How do we evaluate the Executive Director?

Summary:

Suggestions from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and an author.

Answer:

There is a list of published and online resources after the article below.
One responsibility of the Board of Directors is appraising the work of
the organization's Executive Director (ED). An evaluation can help to
improve the confidence, support, growth and working relationship between
the Board and the ED. While this review is sometimes avoided or done
poorly, it represents an opportunity to identify challenges in program
or performance, reward the ED, and strengthen the organization's overall
administration.

Because at least once a year the ED should expect to receive a coherent
view of the Board's opinion of his or her work, the evaluation process
will be more effective with advance planning. At a minimum, the
appraisal can take the form of a pre-arranged discussion between the ED
and the Board Chair, although the evaluation should have a written
component.

The ED's performance should be measured in relation to his or her job
description, and the evaluation may cover the following activity areas:
staff relations; administration; planning; leadership; fiscal
management; external public relations; effectiveness in working with the
board to fulfill the annual plan; and effectiveness in helping the board
achieve its own accountability and level of responsibility. The
specifics of the evaluation process should be determined by the
Personnel Committee or a task force of the Board, and the ED should be
informed of the process in advance. An Executive Committee or the Board
Chair can report the conclusions of the evaluation to the ED. The type
of evaluation the organization uses can include any of several elements:

• input from all of the individual Board members;
  
• input from peer staff members;
  
• self-evaluation;
  
• intermittent observation;
  
• a formal rating system;
  
• an open-ended discussion of career goals and paths; and
  
• opportunity for the ED to respond.
  

One system that seems to work well for many nonprofit organizations is
for the Board Chair to circulate a questionnaire to all of the board
members asking specific questions about the ED's performance during the
past year. The questionnaire can use a ranking system
(i.e.1=outstanding, 2=expected, 3=below expectations, 4= not
satisfactory) and include space for narrative comments. The Chair can
then summarize these responses and communicate them to the ED, seeking
his or her reaction. At that point, the Chair and the ED can set
performance objectives for the coming year, and then a report can be
made to the full board for review. After that, changes in compensation
can also be discussed.

For further information see, among others, Assessment of the Chief
Executive, distributed by BoardSource (formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards) 1828 L St NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036, 202/452-6262 - http://www.boardsource.org/Bookstore.asp?Item=2


May 22, 1996

For more information contact:

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

2700 University Ave. W. #250

St. Paul, MN 55114

Phone: (612) 642-1904

Fax: (612) 642-1517

http://www.mncn.org

email: mcn@mncn.org

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Nathan Garber (http://GarberConsulting.com) posted this list of resources on March 11, 2004.

Alberta Community Development & The Muttart Foundation: Hiring &
Performance Appraisal of the Executive Director. See an online description.

I wrote a template for questions to ask Board members, Staff, and Peers when
conducting a 360 degree evaluation. It needs updating but might be helpful. http://garberconsulting.com/360_degree_questionnaire.pdf

Carter's Management assistance has some useful stuff. Start at
http://www.mapnp.org/library/emp_perf/emp_perf.htm

Marilyn Dickey. "Major Oversight" Chronicle of Philanthropy November 18,
1999 http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v12/i03/03003301.htm

Norah McLintock. Nonprofit CEOs: How are you Doing? Front & Centre. Nov.2001
vol. 8 no. 6 http://www.ccp.ca (free download for members of the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy)

The Center for Creative Leadership provides tested questionnaires and other
tools for assessing management performance. Some questionnaires can be
completed and compiled online. The site is primarily designed to sell the
center's products. http://www.ccl.org/index.shtml

Board and CEO Roles: Different Jobs, Different Tasks,
http://www.ccleague.org/pubs/DiffRoles-Jobs00.pdf

Terrie Temkin forwared a reference to her own article on the subject:
Evaluating the Top Administrator: A New Approach
http://www.nonprofitmgtsolutions.com/ettaana.htm

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Keyword revision 8/19/99 -- CM; new text, 3/11/04; BoardSource info updated 5/10/06 -- PB