Student Research Feature: Enhancing a Nonprofit Organization’s Capacity to Provide Service and Advocacy to Women

The School of Leadership Studies would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Randa Orom on the completion of a Master’s Thesis titled, Enhancing a Nonprofit Organization’s Capacity to Provide Service and Advocacy to Women: A Participatory Action Research with Zonta Club of Victoria .

This thesis is available through RRU’s library here 

We asked Randa a few questions about this research and this is what they said:

What are some key takeaways from your thesis that would be helpful for other leaders?

My thesis project underscores the importance of gathering various perspectives when analyzing and solving organizational problems. It also demonstrates how adaptative leadership can develop an organization’s capacity and build resilience in emerging systems. Other takeaways include the importance of increasing organizational awareness of intersectional issues and incorporating trauma-informed practices in our leadership approaches. 

How is the organization moving change forward based on your work?

The organization’s leaders have started considering trauma-informed practices to address burnout among members. They also started to strategize their activities in order to enhance their organization’s capacity to provide advocacy and services to women.

What surprised you about your experience of the thesis process?

When I look back at my thesis journey, time management was key to completing my research and writing my paper. I was surprised to realize how effective it is to manage my time and set achievable goals using the Parkinson’s law.

How are you applying lessons learned from your whole MA-Leadership journey?

As a result of my MA-leadership journey, I learned to use systems thinking to improve my decision-making process and identify high-leverage interventions in my projects at work. I realized the importance of developing a shared vision across my team and revisiting my assumptions and mental models in my relationships. I also learned that perfectionism can develop armoured leadership, while vulnerability can support authentic leadership. I think the most important lesson I learned in this leadership journey is the importance of personal mastery. No matter how much we think we know about our systems, they’re constantly evolving, so we need to adapt, embrace changes, and hold on to the principle of creative tension between what we want to achieve and our realities!