New leaders in small nonprofit associations: Executive assimilation, training and motivational needs.

摘要

The purpose of this research based social action project was to complete an assessment of how executives in small nonprofit associations perceived the training they received after being hired for their position, and to develop training materials and programs based on this information.; The research utilized a mixed methodology with 157 executives participating in the quantitative phase via self-selection from electronic populations. Survey results were augmented through two qualitative focus groups, which provided insight into organizational processes and practices for developing the training manual through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.; Working through the administrative organization of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), a training manual was developed with a corresponding national meeting educational track for small association training. It was discovered that lack of an accepted taxonomy defining what constitutes a small staff association made a comparative analysis of existing studies difficult. Comparisons were made between Downey's Assimilation Stages and McClelland's Acquired Needs for complete executive acculturation.; The results of this study were the following: formal adoption of definitions of what constitutes a small association and a micro-staff association by ASAE, the publication of a training manual and magazine articles, and the development of national meeting education tracks and a virtual seminar. The accomplishment of these industry contributions and general implications of this research provide a clearer understanding of how new executives actually train and assimilate, and how motivational needs validate executive job satisfaction for successful operational performance.