What Makes Leaders in Human Services Effective? A Pilot Study Linking Systems Thinking, Perspective-Taking, and Leadership Success

Authors

• Ryan Witterschein, Witterschein & Unger Behavioral Consulting, LLCFollow

Keywords

nonprofit leadership, leadership assessment, systems thinking, perspective-taking, leadership effectiveness, pilot study, human services

Abstract

Leadership effectiveness is a persistent challenge in human services nonprofits, where organizations serving individuals with disabilities and complex needs have grown dramatically but lack validated tools for assessing the cognitive competencies that distinguish effective leaders. This quantitative pilot study introduces the ABA Leadership Assessment Tool version 2.0 (ABLA 2.0), a 48-item instrument integrating transformational and transactional leadership frameworks with three constructs from Relational Frame Theory—perspective-taking, temporal reasoning, and systems thinking. Eight Board Certified Behavior Analysts in organizational leadership roles completed the assessment, yielding 100% completion and strong preliminary reliability across all subscales (α = .71–.94). Leaders who demonstrated stronger cognitive flexibility—specifically the ability to take others' perspectives and think across organizational levels—showed substantially higher overall leadership effectiveness (r = .78–.96). These findings suggest that leadership training programs targeting cognitive flexibility, not just management skills, may produce meaningful gains in nonprofit organizational performance. Implications for nonprofit leadership development, assessment practice, and future research are discussed.

Recommended Citation

Witterschein, Ryan (2026) "What Makes Leaders in Human Services Effective? A Pilot Study Linking Systems Thinking, Perspective-Taking, and Leadership Success," Journal of Nonprofit Innovation: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 11.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/joni/vol6/iss1/11