Evaluating Your Executives
New Approaches, New PurposesNew Approaches, New Purposes
Based on the
premise that evaluation can be an enriching professional development experience
for the executive, this book provides a variety of evaluation tools for
nonprofit board members and guidance as they proceed through the evaluation
process. 62 pages. $16* each.
This is not a not-for-profit CEO problem alone.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal,
Tim Schellhardt asks, “If less than ten percent of your customers judged a
product effective and seven of ten said they were more confused than enlightened
by it, you would drop it, right? So why don’t companies drop their annual
performance reviews?” Whether executive evaluation is administered to
not-for-profit CEOs or for-profit CEOs, the questions are many and the
criticisms severe:
“Most performance review systems reinforce a
paternalistic world, one built on distrust and the assumption that the boss (or
board) knows more about our skills, abilities and commitments than we do. This
dependency works against empowerment. And focusing on individual problems rather
than looking at system issues works against the grain of quality improvement.”
Rick Mauer
“The basic nature of performance appraisals is
[that] the board (or boss) takes responsibility for development…and exercises
that responsibility through a discussion of strengths and weaknesses. This is an
exercise of sovereignty regardless of how lovingly it is done. It makes no sense
to talk of team- and partnership-oriented cultures…and still hold on to this
artifact called performance appraisal.” Peter Block
“It takes the average CEO six months to recuperate
from the typical performance appraisal.” Tom Peters
So what to do? Well, what we hope to do in these
pages is three things:
-
Encourage board members to regularly and thoughtfully evaluate their
executive.
-
Enable your board to go about the tasks of evaluation in a way that
promotes learning and strengthens the trust between board and executive.
-
Present a variety of
evaluation inventories and processes, from which you may choose the ones that
fit the culture of your organization
What we will not do is assume that all of you on every board ought to go about
this evaluation task in the same way. We greatly favor putting you and your
fellow board members in charge of determining the “what works best for us”
question. You can and should take hold of the distinctive culture and mission of
your place and fashion the kind of evaluation processes that match who you are
and what you value. (p 2-3)
Click here to read the Foreword
The People Involved
Donn F. Vickers has had a kinetic career living in five
cities and working in five different professions. In Honolulu and Chicago he taught music in private schools and performed in
jazz groups and symphony orchestras. In Rochester he was a Presbyterian clergyman
especially involved in the civil rights movement. In
Syracuse he did research and
development in higher education at the Syracuse University Research Corporation.
In Columbus he was the founding director of The Thurber House
literary center and the previous director of The Jefferson Center. This is the sixth resource for
not-for-profit managers published during his tenure as the Executive Director of
The Academy for Leadership & Governance.
Kelly Stevelt Kaser is
the Director of Research and Programs for The Academy for Leadership &
Governance. In this role, she manages educational programs and retreats,
coordinates events, and conducts literature reviews and background research for
leadership publications. Kelly has an
M.A. in Cultural Policy and Arts Administration and a B.A. in English literature
with an economics minor from The Ohio State University. She also provides
financial and personnel management services for The Jefferson Center.
The Editorial Advisory Committee
was comprised of ten community leaders: 4 executive
directors, 4 board presidents and 2 nonprofit managers. These individuals meet throughout
the entire development of the publication to share insights and lessons learned. The committee included:
Jan Allen, Life and Executive Coach, Jan
Allen Unlimited
Jeffrey Biehl, Executive Director, Access
Health Columbus
Lisa Chambers, Executive Director, TECHCORPS
Ohio
Luke Feck, Writer, Editor
Ruben Castilla Herrera, Coordinator, Latino
Leadership Initiative
Cindy Hilsheimer, Principal, SC search
consultants, llc
Eric Ireland, Market Development Manager,
Ashland Specialty Chemical Company
Aaron M. Riley, Executive Director,
Columbus AIDS Task Force
Janelle Simmons, Director of Development & Communications, Community Shelter Board
Barbara Acton, Executive Director, Childhood League Center