Brief form plus work plan provide basis for ED appraisal

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30620
• Date: 01 February 2018
• Published date: 01 February 2018

February 2018 • Volume 34, Number 6 5

DOI 10.1002/ban© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

What to do when your volunteer board member wants to be paid

A board member with specic expertise has offered to

conduct a needs assessment to determine whether the

organization should create a new program. She volun-

tarily performed some of the initial work, which included a

proposal for the work that needs to be done leading up to

development of a business plan. The proposal includes a

schedule of payments to her for the work yet to be completed.

What should you do?

There are several issues to consider in this scenario

currently facing a Texas board. First, the board would need

to discuss and determine the potential for a conict of inter-

est if a board member were to be paid by the organization

for services. In addition, there are potential PR problems

if the public or your funders believe a board member got

a sweetheart deal to perform the work.

Rather than wrestling with issues like that, there are

easier ways out of the situation that won’t negatively affect

the organization. Two options:

1. Pay a professional for the service. You’ll get the

professional’s full attention this way. Asking an attorney

on your board to comment on an issue the organization

faces is one thing; asking the attorney to defend you in a

lawsuit is inappropriate. .

2. Formalize the board member/volunteer consultant

role. When the board’s expectation is that board members

who wish can volunteer their expertise to help the organiza-

tion, you prevent situations where a board member presents

you with a bill for services you thought would be donated. ■

Prevent board acrimony

No executive director wants to find himself in

the middle of board infighting. When the board

just can’t seem to get along, work through your

chair to try this strategy:

Take the time to go around the board table and

let each member speak to the issue that is divid-

ing the board. Keep this simple and give the floor

to only one board member at a time. Make certain

everyone gets his or her opportunity to have a say.

This should prevent the discussion from be-

coming acrimonious while at the same time board

members have a chance to hear their peers’ opin-

ions. Because everybody gets a say, members

should not be complaining or holding grudges.

More tips for stopping board fights in their tracks:

• Don’t be negative.

• Encourage different points of view.

• Never attack other board members’ ideas.

• Don’t “compete.” There’s more at stake in

board decision-making than member ego.

• Always agree on the problem before seeking

solutions. ■

Brief form plus work plan

provide basis for ED appraisal

Retired Executive Director David Cook re-

ceived his annual evaluation by the board using

a brief form.

“The form is brief but is supported by each

member reviewing my annual work plan that ad-

dresses the nine performance standards on the

form,” Cook said. “We got a pretty good response

to this form but are planning to work with the

board next year to get their ideas on how to im-

prove the way we are handling this task.”

The administrator evaluation form gave board

members a wide range (1–10, with1 being “poor

performance” and 10 reflecting an “excellent” job)

with which to rate the executive director.

“The wide range in the scale gave members

flexibility to indicate an area that the executive

could improve on, without hurting the overall

rating,” Cook said. “I would interpret anything

7 or below as an area that needed my atten-

tion. My overall average was 9.5 over the last six

years.”

Cook received the evaluation during a meet-

ing with his board chair each year. “He or she

would give me a written report with the average

scores for each performance standard and all the

member comments,” Cook said. “We discussed

any revisions that needed to be made to my work

plan for the coming year.” ■