Role of the Executive Director

Each Executive Director comes to the position with their own set of strengths – but the most successful Executive Directors realize they have to become a “jack of all trades” to be most effective. The responsibilities of an Executive Director can be grouped into the following categories:

1. Leader
2. Visionary/Information Bearer
3. Decision-maker
4. Manager
5. Board Developer

Note: these are general categories and may vary, depending on the authority delegated to an Executive Director from their Board of Directors.

LEADER

• Advises the Board
• Facilitates work of the Board
• Advocates on behalf of the organization to promote change within the community
• Motivates staff within organization
• Respects confidentiality
• Upholds and adheres to policies and bylaws of the organization

VISIONARY/ INFORMATION BEARER

• Provides current information to staff and Board
• Facilitates change and seek opportunities to improve current processes within the organization
• Link between Board and staff
• Link between organization and community
• Provide timely information to membership
• Prepare communications materials

DECISION-MAKER

• May present policy and planning recommendations or options to the Board
• Oversees staff actions in day to day operations
• Helps resolve issues in a supportive, problem-solving style

MANAGER

• Creates and implements operations plan in response to Board direction
• Oversees day to day operations of organization
• Delegates responsibility and authority to staff
• Implements policy decisions and directives of the Board
• Manages organization’s human resources (including hiring, evaluating, and supervising staff)
• Manages financial resources
• Manages physical resources
• Observes legal and ethical limitations
• Is well versed in all organizational materials – bylaws, policies, procedures, past Board minutes, publications, historical documents, promotional materials.

BOARD DEVELOPER

• Supports Board during orientation and self-evaluation
• Implements recommendations of Board
• Promotes Board accomplishments

BOARD AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RELATIONSHIP

No discussion of roles and responsibilities of the Executive Director would be complete without addressing the (potentially thorny issue of the relationship between the Executive Director and the Board of Directors.

As a general rule, Boards primarily govern, and staff primarily manages. This means that a Board should not get involved in the day to day affairs of the organization. However, because the distinction between management and governance is not absolute, confusion and tensions can arise. Particularly in the case where new organizations grow in size and statue, it can be difficult for Board members to remove themselves from the day to day activities they once oversaw in the office.

HELPING THE BOARD PRACTICE GOOD GOVERNANCE

The task of ensuring the Board focuses more on governance issues instead of management issues falls to the Executive Director. Here are three tips to move your Board towards governance instead of management:

• Ensure a strategic plan is in place (one supported by the Board), and provide regular activity updates to the Board. Through these reports, the Board sees the organization is working toward long-term goals.
• Provide relevant materials to the Board priority to meetings, with explanations. Inform Board members of how specific agenda items relate to the organization’s larger mission.
• Encourage the Board to dialogue among themselves to develop consensus. Work to keep the Board focused on the larger issues.
• Be knowledgeable about the organization. Have a full understanding of all organizational materials, including bylaws, policies and procedure manuals, past board meeting minutes, publications, historical documents, and promotional materials. As Executive Director, you live and breathe the work for the organization. Board members will rarely have the same depth of knowledge about the organization.
• Determine the extent of Board/staff interaction. Generally, the smaller the organization, the more likely that all contact with Board members will be through the Executive Director. Within a larger organization, the Executive Director will not be as well-versed in all facets of the operation, and direct Board-staff contact will prove more effective. Still, the ED should remain informed of any contact between Board and staff.
• Never relinquish fiscal control. A thorough knowledge of current and long-term fiscal trends is crucial, and cannot be delegated. Board members must be updated regularly on fiscal status.
• Know your volunteers. Understand the various reasons why people have volunteered to serve o0n the Board (networking, recognition, strong beliefs). This will help you to better work with your Board members, and ensure they do not succumb to burn-out or boredom – two reasons that often result in people resigning form Boards.
• Be a jack of all trades.
• Maintain flexibility. Executive Directors will soon learn that nothing in their organization is static. Change is the order of the day. You can be certain that issues, responsibilities and Board relationships will not remain the same from year to year. To thrive in this type of environment, creativity and patience on the part of the Executive Director are crucial.

Content for Board Orientation was reprinted with permission in 1999 by SaskCulture as part of the SaskCulture Handbook for Cultural Organizations.Updated March 2014.