You Want to Become a Leader? Start Now

Act like a leader.

Volunteer to oversee a new project that will require you to make a presentation to your organization’s board, says Linda Golaszewski, who runs leadership boot camps in her role as nonprofit program manager at Portland State University’s Institute for Nonprofit Management.

Set up informational interviews.

Talk to people who already hold CEO jobs, says Ms. Golaszewski, and ask them what they have learned about making the move and navigating the role’s challenges.

Sign up for board service.

“You’ll see the whole picture of an organization, from programs to fundraising and infrastructure,” says Allen Fernandez Smith, executive director of Urban Habitat, in Oakland, Calif., whose interest in working in the nonprofit world grew out of serving on a board.

Look for chances to inch closer to the goal.

It’s the career steps a person takes along the way to the top that make him or her ready for leadership, says Rachel Ebora, executive director of San Francisco’s Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center. Her pivotal move was from community organizer to director of community engagement. That latter job placed her in the spotlight, where she was representing the whole organization.

“When the executive director’s job opened, community members asked me if I was interested,” she recalls. “For many, it was a given that I would go for it.”

Build a network.

Lisa Dixon sought contacts all along a path that led her to become executive director of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, in Maine. At the Eastman School of Music, she studied clarinet performance and music education, but she did most of her internships with orchestras in administration. After college, while serving as a management fellow at the League of American Orchestras, she worked with symphonies around the country, eventually landing at job in operations and community engagement at the Memphis Symphony. Based on her mentors’ recommendations, she was recruited in 2010 to lead the Portland Symphony, at age 29.

“The old saying ‘It’s lonely at the top’ can be true unless you have a strong network of contacts,” Ms. Dixon says.

Broaden skills on the job.

Top candidates for senior management jobs have financial, fundraising, human resources, and administrative skills. See if there is a management- or leadership-training program at your organization that can help increase your knowledge, nonprofit leaders say. Or volunteer to help others on the staff. For example, if your present role doesn’t involve fundraising, pitch in anyway. “Fundraisers are always looking for support,” says Ms. McAndrews.

Fill in gaps through education.

Participate in a nonprofit-management program or attend educational boot camps, suggest nonprofit leaders. A class in nonprofit financial management, for example, could teach you how to prepare a budget if opportunities to build those skills aren’t available on the job. However, while that education may make one more competitive, it’s not enough by itself, cautions J.R. Yeager, a project manager with of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in San Francisco. Real-world experience is crucial for top managers, he says.

Consider serving as an interim director.

It’s a good way to see if an organization’s work and culture are a good fit, say experts. For seven months before taking the top job at the Dysart Community Center, in El Mirage, Ariz., Jessie Singer served as interim executive director there. She kept her day job with a real-estate developer but worked three or four hours every night and took calls and meetings during her lunch hour. It was a lot of work, she says, but it provided an opportunity for the board to see her in action and a way for her to find out if the work would satisfy her.