I was recently working with a friend who serves as the Chairman of a leading Toy Association. He asked me to consult with them about the best ways they can evaluate the performance of their longtime Executive Director (ED). In theory it seems silly that an Executive Board that hires and oversees the ED position struggles when it comes to evaluating. The truth is my friend runs one of the best toy manufacturers in the United States. He has over 1,000 employees, 3 locations and lots of leadership plaques hanging in this office. He knows everything there is about Toys but what he DOESN”T know is the quality it takes to run an association. This is scenario can be mirrored by the volunteers of thousands of trade associations. They know a lot about their own industry but not about their own. Its like the D of the Toy Association telling the Chairman how he should make certain toys. Stick to what you know best.
Executive Boards are a volunteer role. It’s an important role but it’s still a volunteer role. My friend has never run a Membership Drive Event, Implemented a Marketing Campaign, Led Professional Development Courses or recognized what goes into creating non-dues revenue.
The truth is there are a lot of Volunteer Board Members who are misevaluating their ED’s. I will briefly outline some practical ways to evaluate them but we must also recognize there are two other areas that need to be evaluated too. The ED needs to evaluate his/her staff, The Executive Board evaluates the ED and the General Membership evaluates their Volunteer Leaders.
1. Let’s start with the easy stuff. The ED is supposedly hired because they have association knowledge. Ideally the ED hires people on their team who have the qualities and knowledge to lead certain departments (Education, Marketing, Membership, and Legislative). In this scenario, the Board can only bless and approve any requests for the ED to hire someone but there should be little input on the final choice(s). The ED is ultimately judged upon the staff they hire. Certainly there are assessments the ED can utilize to measure efficiency, dependency and desire but there can also be reasonable benchmarks.
2. In regards to the Board measuring the success or failures of their ED, which I reiterate is the only position they should be looking at, and the exact challenge given to me as a consultant. I obviously have quite a few ways to tackle this subject which I charge a small fee to do but I will offer a few diverse approaches which can be parlayed together nicely.
A. When this ED was hired there was likely a Job Description offered to them. As an Executive Board, I recommend going through each line and assessing the performance with the basic volunteer eye test. Some of the areas will be black and white (I.E quantifiables) and some areas are shades of gray (Adaptability, Dependable, Flexible). This should be a litmus test.
B. Board Survey – This group includes Executive Board but also Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs or General Board Members. These are volunteers who probably work the most often with the ED. Yes, the opinions matter but it’s not the final word. I have customized surveys, which can be utilized for this approach.
C. Survey Your General Membership – The reality is most Executive Boards chose to ignore the majority opinion. They may not see the work of the ED on a frequent basis but they deserve to be asked and counted. I had a personal experience a few years ago, where I fulfilled all the job description as an ED. Furthermore, I significantly grew the membership and created a great culture within the organization. It would be fair to say that I was really appreciated by the General Membership but not by the Executive Board. When I was evaluated this was not taken into consideration and really created a rift between the Executive Committee and the General Membership when I left.
3. It should also be noted that the General Membership should also get to evaluate their Board Leadership. Associations are a Democracy not a Limited Republic. Leaders (even volunteers) should be evaluated on the merits of their work too. Your Bylaws may prevent consequences other than NOT being reelected but that doesn’t mean the General Membership shouldn’t have a voice in evaluating leadership.
Global Peopleology 