Optimal CEO and Board President Collaborations
Strategies for Effective Board and Administration Work Relationships
Sep 7, 2009
Successful nonprofit organizations depend on an effective, sound executive director and board president relationship. It is important that volunteer leaders respect the role and responsibilities of the organization’s CEO while upholding their fiduciary duties. Here are a few strategies for ensuring a successful board president and executive director relationship.
Develop and Adhere to Job Descriptions
First and foremost, the most important strategy is to develop and adhere to job descriptions for both the board president and the executive director. Job descriptions will help establish a healthy working relationship between management and volunteers by creating clear boundaries and expectations regarding the responsibilities of each group.
Job descriptions for board presidents should include responsibilities such as:
- Hiring, monitoring and evaluating the executive director's performance
- Ensuring that strategic plans, budgets and long range capital plans are in place
- Setting policy
Executive directors' job descriptions should include duties such as:
- Implementing board policies; developing procedures
- Managing the organization's resources (financial and human resources)
Other Key Strategies
Beyond this, it is important to:
- Presidents should not micro manage and CEOs should not avoid complete and accurate reporting.According to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits article on “Governance Basics,” the board governs and the CEO manages. The executive director is responsible for the day to day operations of the nonprofit organization while the board president and the other trustees have a duty to set policy. It is tempting for a president to get overly involved in the workings of the organization. However, micromanaging may cause an executive director to push back by not being very forthcoming about the organization’s performance. This may create a negative cycle of more micro managing and more reluctance to share information.
- Presidents should be sounding boards but CEOs should not over use that resource.The board president and board as a whole are a resource for the organization in the person of the CEO. This resource should be used prudently when a legitimate reason arises. The CEO should resist the temptation to seek advice too frequently for fear of looking inexperienced and unsure.
- Work closely but maintain a professional distance. The board is responsible for evaluating the performance of the executive director. Consequently, it is important to have a collegial relationship while avoiding becoming too friendly. The president must preserve a semblance of objectivity because a friendly bias towards the executive director will not be beneficial for the CEO or the organization.
Maintaining close working relationships between the board president of a not for profit entity and its executive director offer a foundation for a successfully operating organization. Respecting boundaries and carrying out the responsibilities associated with each job are central to this working relationship.
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