The Executive Director's Private Notes

Executive directors take a lot of notes. It might be notes at a staff meeting. It might be notes at a training session. It might be the handwritten notes at a board meeting. It might be notes when meeting with a funder.

What do you do with all those notes? Well, I’ll share what I do with mine.

I keep my notes in a binder for the operating year. I separate them into sections so I can easily find and reference details from a meeting that happened even months ago. At the end of the operating year, I empty out the binder and file the notes along with my day planner in with my personal tax files for the year. It isn't likely I'll need the notes again for any sort of legal matter, but I'm kind of a planner and I like to be sure I have the information for as long as needed.

It isn't necessary for an executive director to keep detailed notes. But when a decision is challenged it is extremely helpful to be able to go back to the raw details and not question your own judgement.

The only exception are notes from HR meetings with employees. Hiring, firing, and supervising employees is a major part of an executive director's job. I make sure to keep detailed HR notes for any meeting with an employee for as long as I am employed with the organization. Those notes may well serve as the rationale for a major HR decision that could be called into question years from now.

I keep a very carefully proofed document of HR meetings in with my executive director files for each employee. That careful collection of notes might later be turned over to a new executive director who takes the job. I describe events as they occur, good or bad, in a factual manner. Any interpretation on my part is recorded in my own private notes that I keep for myself.

It isn't necessary for an executive director to keep detailed notes. But when a decision is challenged it is extremely helpful to be able to go back to the raw details and not question your own judgement.

I hope you’ve found these ideas helpful. If you have a question, please leave a comment, or send me a message. I’d love to help you out. Talk to you soon. 😊

-Christie