This is a 4-hour workshop
Workshop Description: Some nonprofit boards love their executive directors and feel very lucky…others do not. But the majority of boards share a common aversion to the required annual Executive Director evaluation. Some boards have NEVER conducted an executive director evaluation. Other boards are so uncomfortable that they procrastinate and skip several years before conducting an evaluation. This leaves many committed, hardworking executive directors feeling under-supported…and allows executive directors who are not a fit for the role to rule unchecked. Join your board and staff colleagues to discuss these challenges and gain resources, ideas, and strategies to support a healthy process for the annual Executive Director evaluation…and free up energy to support your organization’s essential community work!
Discuss and learn a highly functional process that helps executive directors feel supported and allows board members to complete this duty with integrity. Review the primary purpose of the annual evaluation, beyond simply the legal obligation. Discuss common questions:
- Does every board member have to participate or can a small group conduct the evaluation?
- Our board doesn’t have time to evaluate the executive director every year, what are our options?
- Our Executive Director is doing a great job, do we have to do an evaluation this year?
- I think our Executive Director does a solid job, but there are some changes I think will really move our organization forward…how do I say that?
- Our board procrastinates every year because we don’t enjoy this role. How do we get past this?
- How should we include staff feedback in the executive director’s evaluation?
- When do we discuss a compensation increase?
Intended Audience: This workshop is designed for new board members, longtime board members, executive directors, and HR professionals. The goal is to develop a healthy and functional process for your organization that will support a strong board-executive director partnership that can maximize community impact. This workshop is most effective when attended by a team of individuals from your organization. Please send a 3-person team composed of a) 3 board members b) 2 board members and your executive director or c) one board member, your HR director, and your executive director. Other groupings accepted so long as they are not all staff. Your board chair’s participation is ideal. If you disagree, that’s a different workshop!
Pre-Assessment: A pre-assessment survey will be sent one to two weeks prior to the workshop to assess your experiences and offer opportunities for you to share questions and scenarios in advance of the workshop.