10 Highest Paying Careers in Organizational Leadership

Organizational leadership is an approach to management in which the leader sets strategic goals. The area of study is relatively new in business higher education. There are many career paths. The organizational leader works to motivate the employees of their organization to achieve those goals. Organizational leadership is essentially an improvement on certain outdated management approaches. These tend to use “do a good job or you’re fired” as the primary motivation for employees. The latter approach tends only to motivate employees to do the bare minimum required to keep their position.

The OL approach focuses on other methods of motivating employees. This is often accomplished by introducing ways for the employees to benefit when the organization succeeds.

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The strategies and techniques you learn in your organizational leadership degree program are flexible. This is regardless of whether you are studying at the undergraduate or graduate level. They can be applied in all kinds of organizations. This includes:

private sector business
non-profit organizations
government organizations

This flexibility also means that you can work in a great number of fields.

A bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership will open many doors in the world of business. Pairing it with a related master’s in a field like public administration or finance can lead to even more career opportunities. An organizational leadership master’s goes with any bachelor’s-level professional degree, such as:

engineering
information technology
computer science
education, or others

An engineer with a master’s in organizational leadership degree is a huge asset to an engineering division.

This article features 10 of the highest-paying organizational leadership career opportunities. We’ll explain the ways in which an organizational leadership degree program (sometimes paired with another degree) is a good fit for that career. These organizational leadership jobs are ordered from highest to lowest median salary.

All salary information provided is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS is a massive operation that collects important stats on all careers and organizes them. The BLS is the most reliable source of this information.

Computer and Information Systems Managers

Every year, the internet becomes more and more central to our lives and businesses. While most small businesses don’t need a large IT department, medium and large businesses certainly do. And every sizable IT department needs a manager. IT is a field you can get into and rise up through the ranks with simply a bachelor’s degree and the right experience.

With IT departments growing in size, the needs of even medium-sized organizations are becoming more complex. The need for IT professionals with organizational leadership skills is becoming more important. If you’re in IT, a master’s in organizational leadership can give you a serious career advancement edge. It looks great on the resume. Also, the skills and strategies you will learn are sure to help you do a better job leading your department. It’s a great way to make yourself one of your organization’s most indispensable leaders.

Median Annual Salary: $151,150
Top 10% Earn More Than: $208,000
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $90,430

Architectural and Engineering Managers

Architecture and engineering degrees are already some of the highest-paying degrees at the bachelor’s degree level. Earning a master’s in this field is one way to advance, making you qualified to work on higher-level projects. But if you’re eyeballing management positions, a master’s in organizational leadership is the way to go. You already have the technical understanding required to manage other architects or engineers. An organizational leadership master’s degree is a powerful tool you can use to help you and your colleagues get the most out of your efforts. Your mind is already accustomed to rigorous rational thought. Combine this with the leadership strategies learned through a master’s in organizational leadership. This would be an significant boon for any company.

Median Annual Salary: $149,530
Top 10% Earn More Than: $208,000
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $95,310

Sales Manager

It’s fairly common for people to get into sales without even having a bachelor’s degree. With just a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership, you can find a job in sales right out of the gate. You will be a prime candidate for a sales manager position as long as you do well on the sales floor.

Generally speaking, sales manager positions require less experience than many management positions. They usually require fewer than five years of experience. An organizational leadership degree is not a guaranteed ticket into a sales management position. Sales is an extremely performance-oriented field. Sales managers often say you either love it or you won’t last six months. Sales managers work in a high-stress, competitive environment. Everyone below them wants their job. This means sales managers must display consistent performance or they are out. So while the degree can give you an edge when you go for the management positions, your sales numbers will also be an important factor.

Sales managers will find the position ruthless. You live and die by the numbers your sales team generates. The sales career is:

high-effort
high-risk
high-reward

It has one of the highest earning ceilings, but also one of the lowest earning floors of any career.

Median Annual Salary: $132,290
Top 10% Earn More Than: $208,000
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $63,170

Compensation and Benefits Managers

For this career, you should consider two options.

First, a bachelor’s degree in human resources and a master’s in organizational leadership.
Second, a bachelor’s in organizational leadership and a master’s in HR.

Either combination is a solid choice. However the first option allows you to start gaining HR experience immediately. Compensation and benefits management is a specialized area of HR. This position deals primarily with designing incentives structures. Managing and monitoring those structures and the effects they have on the organization is also crucial. You’ll be dealing with:

retirement plans
payroll systems
healthcare packages

Other areas include:

bonus structures
salary tiers
starting pay
system structure to manage raises

You’ll also be setting vacation, sick leave, paid family leave, and other policies. A quality compensation and benefits manager can make or break a company. This is why it’s the fourth-highest-paying organizational leadership career.

Median Annual Salary: $125,130
Top 10% Earn More Than: $208,000
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $70,920

Human Resources Manager

Human resources manager is one of the hardest jobs in any organization. Human resource management is about walking the line between protecting the company and meeting worker needs. They make sure workers are adequately compensated and are protected from workplace harassment.

HR managers also engage in conflict resolution when conflict occurs in the workplace. They handle disciplinary matters up to and including terminating an employee. In many organizations, human resource management also plays a role in hiring employees. Departmental and general managers are usually the final say on whether or not to hire a person.

Different companies have different expectations of their human resources managers. This makes it important to confirm with the company that their expectations and values align with yours. A conflict of expectations and values between you and the company can lead to added stress in an already stressful job.

A bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership with a human resources management minor is a good choice for entry-level HR positions. That degree supplemented with a master’s is a good mid-career goal. The master’s should be in:

human resources
organizational leadership
industrial/organizational psychology

This can open up the highest-level positions in the field, once you have enough experience.

Median Annual Salary: $121,220
Top 10% Earn More Than: $208,000
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $71,180

Training and Development Managers

One of the keys to employee success is efficient and thorough training. It’s unfair to expect a high level of performance from employees if you’re leaving them to figure out everything on their own. Training and development managers work with professionals to design training programs.

They plan training sessions and coordinate and direct skill- and knowledge-enhancement programs. It’s not necessary for the training and development manager to be an expert in the knowledge and skills for which the training is being designed. Most of the time, the training and development manager will be working with a highly skilled professional. They design the training programs together.

Degrees for this sort of position would be a bachelor’s in organizational leadership. This is combined with a master’s in industrial-organizational psychology later. Another combination could be a bachelor’s in psychology or human development. This could be combined at some point with a master’s in organizational leadership.

Median Annual Salary: $115,640
Top 10% Earn More Than: $200,020
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $66,270

Top Executives

Executive leadership positions tend to be the highest-level positions in an organization. This group includes:

The best fitting positions among these for someone with a degree in organizational leadership are CEO and COO. If you have more specialized training in finance or information technology, the CFO and CIO positions would also be possible.

Of course, obtaining a C-level executive position involves a lot more than just acquiring the right combination of degrees. You must also stand out in your field. You must show ability in your work that will translate well to high-level decision-making positions. You’ve got to find and obtain the jobs that will allow you to develop the professional skills to compete for the positions.

The salaries for a chief executive officer vary wildly. While many imagine CEOs making millions upon millions of dollars per year, that’s typically not the reality. CEOs of mid-sized and large companies tend to make very good money. CEOs of small companies, startups (in the early years), and nonprofit organizations tend to make less.

Median Annual Salary: $107,680
Top 10% Earn More Than: $208,000
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $45,850

Medical and Health Services Managers

This job is the healthcare services equivalent of a business manager. Medical and health services managers essentially coordinate the business activities of healthcare providers. They handle everything from front-office management to employee scheduling. They manage customer service and billing.

Medical and health services managers free up the medical staff to do what they’re best at: care for and treat patients. A good starting degree is an organizational leadership bachelor’s. This is followed by a master’s in healthcare administration. The reverse also works. A healthcare administration bachelor’s with a master’s in organizational leadership.

Some schools may offer minors in healthcare administration with their bachelor’s in organizational leadership. This is often good for a medical and health services entry-level job. Pay is heavily dependent on the context of your employment. The best-paying positions are in:

government
hospitals
outpatient care centers.

Median Annual Salary: $104,280
Top 10% Earn More Than: $195,980
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $59,980

Administrative Services and Facilities Managers

Companies with large buildings and warehouses need administrative services and facilities managers. Facilities managers oversee:

maintenance
security
services of work environments

An administrative services manager oversees the administrative staff and operations of a workplace. They coordinate mail distribution and keep records. They monitor the facilities where these tasks take place. Admin services and facilities managers exist so workers and managers can go about their business. Running the teams that fix a broken toilet or change light bulbs. They deal with all the issues essential to maintaining a functioning workplace.

Median Annual Salary: $98,890
Top 10% Earn More Than: $169,930
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $56,080

Elementary School, Middle School, and High School Principals

This is one of the fields where you will almost certainly need your bachelor’s degree to be in education. Most principal positions will require more than five years of experience in teaching. In some states, principals are required to have a master’s degree in education as well. This will usually be in educational administration. A double major could make you a prime candidate for this position.

Consider majoring in education and organizational leadership at the undergraduate level. The place where the organizational master’s really shines is if you have a master’s in education, but not in the administration element of it. The master’s in organizational leadership is a perfect way to supplement your education degrees. This can allow you to switch careers and become an administrator.

Median Annual Salary: $98,490
Top 10% Earn More Than: $152,500
Lowest 10% Earn Less Than: $65,150

FAQ

What is the difference between a degree in Organizational Leadership and Business Administration?

Organizational leadership is based on leadership theory. It’s about acquiring the interpersonal skills and mindset that makes a good leader. Business administration is about the technical side of running a business. Both are useful for companies. But being good at business administration doesn’t necessarily make you a good leader of employees.

Organizational leadership was introduced to fill a gap in leadership for which many of those who studied business administration are not suited. The leadership skills provided by organizational leadership training are becoming more and more essential to the modern business. Employees are not a technical problem to be solved. They are people. And leadership skills are necessary to get the most out of people in the workplace.

This means that people with a BBA degree and organizational leadership degree don’t have skills that put them in competition with each other. They are complementary.

What can I do with an organizational leadership degree?

While the jobs in this ranking are great, they aren’t the only organizational leadership jobs out there. An organizational leadership degree qualifies you for many positions. These include positions like manager and project manager, in any organization.

If you think outside the box, there are many organizational leadership combinations. If you have a degree in art or art history, an organizational leadership degree could get you a job at:

an art school
gallery
museum

An organizational leadership degree combined with a theater major would be a good combination for a professional stage manager or producer. Organizational leadership with political science or communications could make for a great campaign manager. Organizational leadership is a very flexible degree. Organizational leaders are needed in every sector of the economy. The opportunities for organizational leaders are nearly endless.

What does an organizational leader do?

The organizational leader focuses more on decision making regarding leading employees than managing the technical side of the business. The organizational leader implements various tools to understand the state of mind of the employees–namely, the effect of the workplace on those employees. Then the organizational leader will implement various techniques to optimize the workplace for employee productivity.

This often includes counterintuitive policies. Somebody without an understanding of research regarding workers will assume that workers working longer hours means more work getting done. The reality is that worker productivity starts to fall off after four hours, and falls off drastically after eight hours. Most people would schedule meetings during the beginning of the shift. This would be a mistake because you are eating into your employees’ most productive period with a non-productive activity.

Holding meetings after the first four hours of an employee’s shift, preparing them for the next day, increases productivity. Employees also show increased productivity when allowed a reasonable amount of time to take care of personal issues or even just browse social media while on the job. These small breaks are refreshing mentally.

Somebody who sees workers as machines that have consistent productivity levels throughout the day might see this as losing productivity. But the reality is that a short period of recharge can pay productivity dividends. An organizational leader in human resources can make a huge difference in a company.

A project manager with an organizational leadership degree can run an extremely efficient and productive team. Highly placed organizational leaders with a graduate degree can influence the entire organizational structure of a company. Organizational leaders with good business acumen can achieve high productivity and high job satisfaction.

Is there a difference between a master of science in organizational leadership and a master of arts in organizational leadership?

Unlike the case of a bachelor’s degree, there is very little difference at the graduate level between the MS and MA in organizational leadership. This is because the number of electives are limited in most programs. A master of science’s electives will focus more on the scientific and technical side of the profession. An MA’s focus will be more on the arts and humanities side. There is very little practical difference between the two degrees. If you are in a STEM-related field, then the MS is probably the best choice. If you are in a field related to the humanities, then the MA is a great choice.

GCD Staff
Updated October 2022

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This concludes our article on the top 10 highest-paying organizational leadership jobs for 2022.

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