Leadership in faith-based aged and community care

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the domains of performance needed by leaders in aged and community care not-for-profit organisations. Design/methodology/approach - Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with senior managers employed by faith-based aged and community care not-for-profit organisations, academics in ageing and business fields and senior government employees from aged services departments and agencies in Australia. Results were content transcribed and analysed thematically in order to identify the major themes that emerged. Findings - A total of 37 people participated in the study. The domains of performance identified by participants as required of leaders in aged and community care were: professionalism; collaboration and teamwork; judgement and decision making; communication; scholarship and teaching; management; advocacy; and leadership. The performance requirements that were identified for leaders in aged and community care not-for-profit organisations were broader than just leadership per se. Research limitations/implications - The findings of this study suggest that the aged and community care not-for-profit sector has specific requirements for the performance of its leaders. Leadership is one of a number of performance attributes desirable in leaders in this sector. Practical implications - The aged and community care not-for-profit sector has distinctive needs and specific requirements of its leaders. Originality/value - It is recommended that a broad range of performance attributes are taken into account by aged and community care not-for-profit organisations when recruiting and training staff in leadership positions.