executive director
Cut Your HR Time!
Human resources management is often one of the biggest surprises for executive directors. In the non-profit world, we usually come into our roles because of expertise in our sectors. That expertise can be strong and with decades of practical experience but very few of us also bring training...
Buy your own darn gift.
Recently, I explained to my team, that I experience a sort of emotional rollercoaster after an event or planning session. Initially, I’m excited, energized, and filled with hope about the future of the organization. Then, pretty quickly afterwards, I feel exactly the opposite. I feel...
A better way to evaluate the Executive Director.
When the operating year is over and it is time to conduct the executive director’s evaluation, many non-profit boards seemingly forget how to operate as a governing group. They pull out dusty old evaluation templates from 25 years ago, jump into elementary school grading systems, cobble together...
Some evening and weekend work is required.
When a non-profit employee, especially an executive director, is a salaried position, there is an unwritten expectation that they will get the job done no matter how long it takes. Many new EDs will embrace this work arrangement because they want to prove themselves capable and valuable to...
Now, just one minute!
The minutes of a board meeting serve as an official record of the decisions made. Motions are recorded and often a signed copy is kept for legal reference. Who is responsible for taking those very important minutes at a board meeting? No need to feel overwhelmed. When a board meeting is...
What do you do all day?
There are going to be times, many times, in every non-profit executive director’s career when you feel out of touch with what your team is working on. It might be because you are new to the role, new to the organization, or you’ve had staffing changes. There is a lot of trial and error...
Frank wants a copy of his personnel file
The official personnel file is one of the most useful collections of information about an employee and often the files with the biggest mess. From time sheets to vacation requests, from letter of employment to annual evaluations, the volume of information a non-profit executive director is...
New program? No problem!
A non-profit executive director has the strategic plan in mind pretty much all the time. As planned programs and services run throughout the year, the ED, usually in partnership with the staff team, will keep a keen eye out for potential additions. These opportunities are the ideas that were...
Master your time sheet skills
Executive directors are never truly off the clock. Yes, we can take holidays. Yes, we can lean on our teams and hire admin support. But if a major system fails, it will be the executive director who will answer some serious questions about why it happened. So, we add a few minutes after work,...
Who’s your next hire?
A non-profit usually starts with only one employee. It is often the executive director, and the position handles everything from planning, to programming, to administrative support. When it’s time to hire a second employee, it can be challenging to decide if it is better to hire...
I’m Being Selfish and I Don’t Care.
I see a common pattern with new non-profit board members as they prepare for their first annual general meeting. They get excited, confident, and often a little arrogant. They know what to do and say at the meeting and they certainly do not need any help from anyone to prepare. There is a...
Board - Management Delegation
As a smaller non-profit grows, volunteers take on more and more of the operational tasks. What might have started as a handful of people hosting a few fundraising events each year, or taking turns opening the museum, quickly turns into volunteer burnout and a rapid turnover. That’s when...
It isn’t personal. It's business.
When a non-profit is just getting started, or perhaps, when a non-profit is a bit smaller in operations, it might not have all the tools a more established organization has put into place. From computers and printers to credit cards and accounts, it can be tricky to know whether the...
How do you help a nonprofit become more effective? Simplify the bylaws.
Do you remember the confusion for voting at an annual general meeting that happened during the pandemic? Pre-pandemic, annual general meetings were easy. Everyone was in the same room and voting, as was often stated in the bylaws, was conducted by a simple show of hands. Fast forward to...
When you can't defend yourself, your work will protect you?
The work of a non-profit executive director leaves a trail. It might be the work we did last year, the work we did three jobs ago, or the work we did when we first started. As our career takes us to different organizations, we might not always be around to answer questions about how we...
I am not the caterer
I remember the programming era pre-COVID, where workshops and gatherings rivalled a red-carpet event. Along with finding the right instructors and the best silliest prizes, we planned elaborate catering and hauled in all our own equipment. As we move to post-COVID home offices the landscape...
The best feeling is when it just works!
Being a non-profit executive director is no easy job. I've learned some hard lessons early in my career as I browsed the internet desperately looking for resources, tools, ideas, and solutions. What I found was an overwhelm of information from big-city experts. They had fundraising committees,...
Are you a leader or a manager?
Years ago, I came across an article that discussed the difference between a leader and a manager. The author insisted that someone could only be one or the other – there was no middle ground. Back then, the article praised the leader, dismissed the manager, and pushed all my buttons. I was...
Is it too much?
The current year is wrapping up. Planning is well underway for next year. Non-profit boards will meet to write their strategic plan and then hand it to the staff team to turn into programs and services for the next operating year. Sometimes, in the excitement of operational brainstorming...
Call to order: 4:02 PM
The board meeting is coming up and your job, as the executive director of the non-profit, is to prepare both the reading package and your own reports. Avoid hurt feelings and wasted time. The challenge comes in understanding the nuances between what parts of the reading package are created by...
5 weird truths about being a nonprofit ED
A non-profit executive director is one of the strangest jobs. One minute you will be writing a major grant application and the next you are cleaning the bathroom. Some days you’ll be a leading force for the sector, speaking with confidence and enthusiasm, next you’re hauling twenty thousand...
A non-profit's guide to online banking
Non-profits have many reasons to embrace online banking (e-banking). It might start with a desire to make faster payments to independent contractors, to encourage easier donations, or simply avoid the time it takes for in-person banking. When an executive director begins to investigate...
When board members make operational suggestions…
Every executive director gets them. Operational suggestions from individual board members. The requests usually happen away from board meetings and are almost always given under the guise of trying to be helpful. One or two operational suggestions here and there will feel uncomfortable but...
My team makes me thankful!
Creating an amazing staff team is one of the biggest challenges a non-profit executive director will face. Whether by luck, endless cycles of hiring, or simply waiting long enough, there is nothing more exciting than when that amazing team finally happens. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want...
The difference between operational and governance policy...
Non-profits rely on policies to guide everything from the number of board members needed for a meeting, to how to write a receipt. Policies are very helpful to guide board and staff in their jobs, but policies for the board are very different from policies for the workers. Don’t blur...