Chapter 26: Global Interdependence: The Inclusive Nature of Humanitarian Leaders at Heifer International

In an era when human interaction is shaped by various social, environmental, and economic forces, leaders of global nonprofit organizations are finding new ways to meet the challenges of an interdependent world by harnessing the power that comes from diverse perspectives, disciplines, and cultures. Global nonprofit organizations are dynamic entities that are hubs for inclusion, transformation, collaboration, and change. International nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, are essentially types of nonprofit organizations that are not part of a government entity or operated through a government program (Davies, 2014). Both global nonprofits and NGOs are highly diverse institutions with a multicultural workforce prone to collaborative behaviors (Austin, 2000; Putnam, 2000; Skocpol, 2003). The deliberative actions of humanitarian leaders at these transnational organizations are shaped by their cooperative habits and varied experiences in communities. As confirmed by Rose (2010), the human understanding of and actions toward inclusion, or egalitarian policies and practices, is derived from societal traditions, as well as socio-economic, political, and cultural influences.