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On the same page: The value of paid and volunteer leaders sharing mental models in churches
Author(s) -
Solansky Stephanie T.,
Duchon Dennis,
Plowman Donde Ashmos,
Martínez Patricia G.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
nonprofit management and leadership
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.844
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1542-7854
pISSN - 1048-6682
DOI - 10.1002/nml.215
Subject(s) - value (mathematics) , task (project management) , public relations , psychology , mental model , empirical research , social psychology , management , political science , computer science , economics , philosophy , epistemology , machine learning , cognitive science
We examine the idea that mental models shared among paid and volunteer leaders are associated with improved financial performance in nonprofit organizations. Our empirical analysis of thirty‐seven churches yields evidence that organizations are more effective if paid and volunteer leaders have a shared task mental model—that is, if they report similar conceptualizations of organizational goals and decision‐making processes. These findings suggest that the extent of leaders' agreement on organizational goals and the processes of how decisions are made matter for organizational performance. We argue that it is as important to ensure that everyone is on the same page with regard to goals and how decisions are made as it is to have the “right” goals or right decision processes in place. Implications for practice and future research on shared mental models are discussed.