Mistakes to Avoid

Getting ready to hire an executive director and going through the process of choosing and onboarding that person is time consuming and challenging. Any group making the decision to go down this road will want to take care to avoid predictable mistakes. Here are some common ones I've observed over the years, including a couple I've made myself as a board member!

Failure of the Board to Make the Transition. The role of the board changes once an executive director is in place. With a staff person in place to run programs and take care of operations, board members no longer need to do it all. They can now be much more focused on the set of responsibilities that cannot be delegated to others: governance. They're also likely to be engaging in fundraising differently now that a professional has been brought on who can guide and staff out the work.

This is not to say that board members cannot continue to volunteer in program or administrative roles if they want to. In fact, that is often very helpful for a transitional period. What must change now is that all volunteers performing program or administrative tasks will be doing so under the direction of the new E.D. even if they are on the board of directors. Many board members will welcome that, but a few will resist.

Board leaders must adopt "our role will change/our role has changed" like a mantra. Some board members may find it more comfortable to leave the board and do the volunteer work they enjoy more than governance. Don't fight that - bless them and let them go. They will help the organization more by assisting with programs than they would by sitting unhappily in the boardroom.

Individual Board Members Giving Directives. The board as a whole is an employer now but individual board members are not. The board gives its directives to the E.D. in the form of the position description, strategic plan or other goal document, budget, and decisions made in the boardroom by official action. Sometimes a board will designate one of its members, perhaps the president, to supervise the E.D. but unless that delegation of authority has happened, not even the board president is in a position to give directives to the E.D.

As the new E.D. interacts with individual board members, they must learn to quickly distinguish an opinion from a directive. "These financial reports are too wordy" is different from "You must change these financial reports." Sometimes it will be easy enough to accommodate the preferences of a single board member, but any E.D. can quickly find herself with too many bosses if board discussions have not clarified the relationships and chain of command. An E.D. who is receiving directives from individual board members must be able to address that with the board president, who will have to intervene with offending board members on behalf of the E.D.

Board Disengagement. After going through a big effort like a hiring process, board members will often prioritize other things in their lives for a while, and spend less time with the organization. That is totally understandable. The problem comes when board members “quit in place” because a new E.D. is installed. Another problem comes when board members cede their own responsibilities to that person. Do you really want your new employee to be handling governance-related jobs like putting together meeting agendas, creating minutes, leading boardroom discussions? Do you want them to be responsible for ALL of the fundraising, fundraising, fundraising? That’s not a recipe for success!

To head this off, make sure that the first several board meetings after the new E.D.'s hire are properly focused on governance topics. Board members should continue to run their own meetings. Ask the E.D. to report on program and administrative activities in writing and don't require an extensive presentation or Q&A in the boardroom. Make sure board members understand their role in governance and financial sustainability of the organization is far more than overseeing the staff. Keep people engaged by the way you prove the continuing need for their expertise and input.

Hiring the Founder as the Executive Director. This is not always a mistake but it can be very problematic when the board is disengaged or when they see their role as strictly to support the founder by crossing legal “t’s” and rubberstamping pro forma “i’s”. Even when the founder/E.D. is a great visionary, has great leadership skills, and is extremely effective, the board still plays a critical role that ought not to be phoned in. Beware of becoming overly dependent on the Founder.

If the organization never grows beyond what that one person can do, it will stall, lack ability to achieve its mission, and may not be sustainable in the end. Further, it is the board's job to ensure the organization can survive and thrive even if the founder is suddenly unavailable. An engaged board, performing its fiduciary obligations well, is required to build a complete organization that can last.

Failure to Keep Records. State and federal laws place requirements on corporations, including nonprofits, to maintain employment-related records for specific periods of time. For example, documents related to the hiring process, including emails, screening scorecards, interview notes, and meeting minutes should be kept for three years under federal law. This protects the organization against potential civil actions launched by unsuccessful candidates for the position.

A personnel file should also be kept for each employee. Though it can be electronic, rather than a paper file, there should be a single location with the position description, contract, evaluations, employment-related memos, and the like, and should be maintained for seven years past the termination date of the employee. This is a good job for a board secretary.

It’s worth checking with an attorney to learn whether your state’s requirements are more stringent than federal ones.

Failure to Adapt to a New Way of Doing Things. There is a new leader in town. One that you recruited for their skill, professionalism, and experience. If properly supported by a board fully engaged in its own governance - and fundraising - responsibilities, this new leader has the potential to help your organization grow to new heights, to achieve more of its mission, and really have an impact. You don't want to hold them back.

Fresh perspective is always a good thing. Set the vision and establish their goals, yes. Do your duty to provide constructive feedback in the context of an evaluation, certainly. But make sure to separate their goals (which you set) from their mode of achieving them (which might be different from what you would have done.) The organization is changing now - for the better. The ride will be much more enjoyable if you don't resist the changes.

These three articles on Hiring Your First Executive Director were developed in response to a question asked by a participant in the Level Up Nonprofit Accelerator , a cohort-based learning community designed to meet the specific needs of small nonprofits. It combines weekly live sessions on governance, finance and fundraising with a robust resource library, member forums, and direct access to the trainers. Cohort 6 launches next week. Two full scholarships are still available so visit www.lunaexperience.org and apply today!