Developed by Authenticity Consulting, LLC
Guidelines for Board of Directors Evaluation of Chief Executive
© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD
Sections of This Topic Include
Benefits of Evaluating the Chief Executive
One Process to the Chief Executive (with Sample Schedule)
Special Considerations
Sample Form for Board's Evaluation of the Chief Executive
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Related Library Topics
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Benefits of Evaluating the Chief Executive
Evaluating the Chief Executive is a primary responsibility of the Board. There
are several key benefits from this evaluation, including that the process:
1. Ensures the Board is meeting its duty to effectively lead the organization
2. Ensures organizational goals are being met
3. Ensures continued development of the Chief Executive to more effectively
conduct his or her role
4. Ensures a formal and documented evaluation process that meets standards of
fairness and practicality
5. Ensures the Chief Executive values his or her role, is benefiting from it
and therefore is more likely to stay (finding good Chief Executives is increasingly
difficult)
6. Leaves written record of the Board's impression of the Chief Executive's
performance in case this record is needed for future verification, e.g., for
salary increases, probationary activities, firing, etc.
One Process to Evaluate the Chief Executive
A Sample Schedule
Note that, more important than doing an evaluation at a certain scheduled time, is doing an evaluation at all, so do the evaluation when the Board believes is the best time for its members.
|
Activity: |
Approx. # of months before start of next fiscal year |
| Evaluate the Chief Executive, by referencing his or her progress towards last fiscal year's organizational goals and responsibilities on their job description |
10 |
| Board self-evaluation |
9 |
| Board retreat to address results of Board self-evaluation, conduct any team building and begin strategic planning |
7 |
| Strategic planning to produce organizational goals and identify resources needed to accomplish the goals |
7 |
| Establish Chief Executive's goals for the next fiscal year, by referencing goals produced from strategic planning |
6 |
| Establish next year's revenue goals and budget by referencing resources needed to reach strategic goals |
6 |
| Meets revenue goals |
6 |
| Fiscal year begins |
0 |
Special Considerations
1. Don't worry about specifics of the process as much as being sure that the
evaluation is conducted yearly.
2. Be sure the process is fully documented in a procedure so the process is
well understood and carried out consistently year to year.
3. If staff members are involved in evaluation of the Chief Executive, be sure
this procedure is clearly specified and understood by the Chief Executive.
4. The evaluation should be carried out by a Board committee, not by one Board
member. Committees might be the Executive Committee, a Personnel Committee or
an ad hoc committee.
5. If the Board perceives the Chief Executive to have performance issues, Board
members can initiate an evaluation. DO NOT initiate evaluations only when there
are perceived issues -- this is abusive. Be sure these perceptions are based
on seen behaviors rather than on personality characteristics.
(See "Sample
Form for Board's Evaluation of the Chief Executive")
Return to Board of Director's
Evaluation of Chief Executive
For the Category of Boards of Directors:
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
For-Profit ("Corporate") Boards of Directors
For-Profit ("Corporate") Boards of Directors
-
Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit, utilize and evaluate the best employees for your business.
Includes guidelines to effectively lead yourself (as Board member or employee),
other individuals, groups and organizations. Includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem
among employees of small businesses. Many materials in this Library are
adapted from this book.
NOTE: This is one of the few books that's all about leadership AND how to effectively work with a corporate (for-profit) Board.
The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just click on the image of the book. Also, a "bubble" of information might be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.
Nonprofit Boards of Directors
-
Field Guide to Developing, Operating and Restoring Your Nonprofit Board
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to organize, operate and sustain high-quality nonprofit Boards -- and to fix a broken Board! Includes variety of Board models you can choose from, roles and responsibilities, how to get the best members, how to train and organize them, goals for standard committees, ensuring high-quality meetings, evaluating Boards, how to evaluate and/or replace the Executive Director, and much more! Includes many sample Board policies you can download! Written by the developer of the Free Management Library. Many materials in this Library's topic about Boards are adapted from this book. 30-day, money-back, guarantee!
-
Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision With Nonprofit Staff
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit, utilize and evaluate the best staff members for your nonprofit.
Includes guidelines to effectively lead yourself (as Board member or staff member),
other individuals, groups and organizations. Includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem
among nonprofit staff. Written by the developer of the Free Management Library.
Many materials in this Library are
adapted from this book.
This is one of the few books that's all about leadership AND how to effectively work with a nonprofit Board.
-
Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development With Nonprofits
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides complete, step-by-step guidelines to identify complex issues in nonprofit organizations and successfully resolve each of them. This book is also helpful to organizations that are doing fine now, but want to evolve to the next level of performance. This is one of the truly comprehensive, yet practical, books about this complex subject! Includes online forms that can be downloaded. Written by the developer of the Free Management Library. Many materials in this Library's topic about guiding change are adapted from this comprehensive book. 30-day, money-back, guarantee!
-
Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Step-by-step guidelines to customize and facilitate planners to implement the best strategic planning process to suit the particular nature and needs of their nonprofit. This is one of the few books, if any, that explains how to actually facilitate planning. Includes many online forms that can be downloaded and used by planners. Written by the developer of the Free Management Library. Many materials in this Library's topic about strategic planning are adapted from this book. 30-day, money-back, guarantee!
