By Bridgespan writers |

Many people who are working within the ranks of nonprofit organizations could become great senior nonprofit leaders. However, in part because of budget constraints, few organizations in the sector have formal professional development programs to prepare mid-level managers for senior roles. As a result, most mid-level nonprofit professionals must take responsibility for their own career development.

One way to begin the process is to tap the experience of senior leaders who already have worked their way up within the sector. To that end, we spoke with six senior nonprofit leaders — all of whom have spent much if not all of their careers working in the nonprofit sector — about their career paths and the lessons they learned along the way. We also asked what advice they would give to mid-level managers looking to move into senior nonprofit leadership roles.