Performance reviews can be a great opportunity to reflect on accomplishments and set goals for the future.
As strategic planning consultants, we have helped guide both executive directors and board members through this process and this article will hopefully help you with your executive director review.
What is a Nonprofit Executive Director Review and Why is it Important?
A nonprofit executive director review is an assessment of the performance of the executive director of a nonprofit organization. The review evaluates the director's success in accomplishing objectives such as developing relationships with key stakeholders, strategic planning, and financial management.
The outcome of the review is important because it serves as consensus-building between board members and the executive director, as well as benchmarking progress over time.
Best practice
An effective review should be conducted regularly, encompassing input from both internal and external parties. The results should lead to a comprehensive evaluation of organizational performance and guide future decision-making in support of your mission and vision.
It’s vital that the parties involved in the review consider new strategies and discuss organizational challenges, innovative opportunities, and any potential risks or threats to the organization in order to plan ahead.
One of the best practices is to self-assess and rate your performance before discussing the results with the board.
For the executive director to take the first step and complete an initial review, it helps provide an avenue for open dialogue between you and the board. It allows your own voice and perspective of your job achievements to stand out during the review meeting. The ability for reviewees to have input upfront can provide a level playing field that is necessary for making sure that the performance evaluation process is collaborative, engaging, and motivating.
A template
In following the best practice, we recommend the executive director take responsibility for their review and assessment first by completing a simple worksheet and assessment we developed.
This form is not a generic assessment; it is specifically based on your job description. (If you don't have a written job description then that is the first task.)
It forces you as the executive director to take responsibility for your own review and assessment, which is better than just having the board evaluate you. This opens up a line of communication between you and the board. It allows you to have a say in your review and provides a channel for the board to respond and provide feedback.
Results
Conducting your review this way results in something practical -- a development plan for you -- that you'll review and track with your board chair over the next year.
It’s important to start by assessing the results of the review after completing the worksheet. Assessing staff reaction, team cohesion, and ED performance will help provide clarity on what areas need improvement and whether further action is necessary.
It might also be beneficial to compare the results with past reviews or milestones that have already been achieved in order to improve success rates in the future.
After these processes have taken place, implementing new strategies for better collaboration and fostering successful relationships both within an organization and with external parties should be considered. This can help ensure confidence in the future for both the ED and their colleagues as they move forward with their mission.
Conclusion
A nonprofit executive director review is an important tool for assessing performance and progress within the leadership of nonprofit organizations. This provides an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the organization’s successes with you as leader, as well as areas that could use improvement.