The Board Makes an Annual Written Appraisal of the CEO

A significant cause of confusion and misdirection within NPOs is a sheer lack of documentation. Committee terms of reference may not be spelled out; job descriptions may not exist for directors; there may be no written strategic plan.

Similarly, there may be no written set of strategic goals or a work plan for the CEO and, subsequently, no written appraisal of the CEO’s performance.

However, two essential questions for the CEO are: “How am I performing?” and “How can I do a better job in my role as CEO?”

A board of directors is doing no one any benefit by avoiding these questions. Consequently, the Complementary Model requires this type of feedback to be provided to the CEO every year. Completing an annual written appraisal of the CEO does not have to be a torturous event, full of surprises.

It should be a summary of the CEO’s successes over the past year, as well as a review of goals that were missed or only partially met. All of this information is reviewed comprehensively, annually so that the expectations are clear for the ensuing year. The board needs to realize that completing the CEO’s appraisal for any year began the previous year when the board approved the strategic plan for the NPO.