strategic thinking particularly in a complex external environment; managing resources effectively; advocacy, lobbying and the ability to communicate. Expectations: To be an effective charity chief executive, whatever the size of your organisation, you need three things: courage, commitment to your cause and the ability to communicate that across a range of stakeholders. You need to demonstrate a deep understanding of what makes people tick. The biggest part of the job is not your professional expertise but being able to demonstrate that you know how to get the best out of others' professional expertise. You have to demonstrate humility, a belief in the qualities of others and an understanding that being the chief executive is the least important position in relation to delivering against the cause. The 'compensation' will only ever be what the charity can afford, never what you're worth, so you need to accept that. Business acumen: Many charities now look for commercial experience because of the growth in social enterprise activities. There is a trend of increasing transfers between public, private and not-for-profit sectors, which I think is a good thing. Also, an increasing number of charities have social enterprise activities with the intention that they will make a surplus (profit) which then becomes unrestricted funding for the charity. That said, it's hard to imagine a time when all other sources of income (for example, donations, legacies, trust funding, community events) will dry up. Cause: A deep understanding of and a passion for what the organisation is trying