Culture-building is a shared responsibility between the candidate stepping into new territory and the institution making space for them.
In the changing nonprofit world, skills and talent gaps have emerged for institutions. To bridge these gaps and drive innovation, it is increasingly critical for organizations to consider nontraditional candidates who bring new skills from other sectors, fields, and backgrounds.
But the search for the right candidate is only part of the equation. To ease the transition and ultimately unleash a new hire’s promise, leading institutions must build the culture, systems, and mentorships that allow that person to thrive.
“You have to create a culture where new voices are welcome and not seen as a threat,” says Dexter Bailey, Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations at Caltech.
Bailey pioneered this cultural shift on his team, transforming Caltech’s development shop into a national model of success. When it comes to bringing new talent on board, he encourages his team to always go beyond “good enough.”
“I don’t hire to maintain the status quo; I hire to elevate,” he says.
David Bennett, Vice President for University Advancement at Carnegie Mellon University, similarly emphasizes that the unified, mission-driven culture at his institution was the foundation that allowed him to succeed as a candidate coming from a nontraditional background. He says radical transparency, humility, and curiosity helped him earn trust. But his efforts alone wouldn’t have been enough without the early support and good faith of the team he was joining.
Preparation matters. Before the offer is signed, organizations must ask what it will take for new hires to succeed.
For Bailey, investing in an extensive and relational onboarding process that includes a “buddy” system and manager training makes all the difference.
“The cost of getting it wrong is greater than the effort to get it right,” he observes. An institution’s willingness to partner with nontraditional hires from outside typical pathways, to let them learn in public, and to build trust through action, matters deeply.
Welcoming difference also requires courage and accountability. Bennett is transparent about the increased investment this takes. “Leadership requires the courage to face how hard it’s going to be and still choose to build.”
What does this mean in practical terms? Institutions that are looking to strengthen readiness for their nontraditional hires can invest in onboarding support in a number of ways.
- Educate the existing leadership team about nontraditional pathways and how to value different backgrounds.
- Build formal onboarding and orientation programs that emphasize cultural fluency, emotional intelligence, and role clarity.
- Establish feedback loops and check-in points (three months, six months, etc.) to surface and address any issues.
- Define success metrics that will truly measure the role’s impact, rather than relying on KPIs from prior models.
- Instill accountability at the management level to support, coach, and shepherd the nontraditional leader while balancing support and autonomy.
Culture-building is a shared responsibility between the candidate stepping into new territory and the institution making space for them. When institutions align culture and purpose in this way, they amplify impact.
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