Beyond Burnout: Determinants and Consequences of Sustainable Nonprofit Leadership

Abstract

Much of the scholarship on leadership wellbeing and effectiveness has focused on ways to avoid burnout, rather than explaining how leaders actively sustain wellbeing and effectiveness over time. This paper integrates multiple theoretical frames using an exploratory, sequential mixed-methods design to identify both the determinants and downstream consequences of sustainable leadership in nonprofit organizations. In Phase 1, qualitative interviews with nonprofit CEOs and their spouses reveal that mission focus, relationship mastery, and regular self-care consistently differentiated sustainable from unsustainable CEOs. In Phase 2, structural equation and autoregressive modeling using two-wave data from leaders, their spouses, and direct reports show that leadership style, wellbeing practices, and relationship mastery shape leadership wellbeing, which in turn supports leadership effectiveness. IRS Form 990 data further indicate that higher leadership effectiveness is associated with stronger nonprofit organizational performance. Finally, this study offers theoretically grounded and practical recommendations to support nonprofit leaders and strengthen long-term leadership sustainability.