I wanted to finish off my exploration of hiring a new executive director or CEO by asking an expert. Melissa Merritt has done executive searches for twenty years including ten years in the nonprofit sector. She shares her insights about how a board can prepare for a search and what makes the process most successful. This post is my final in a series about hiring a new CEO or Executive Director. The first post talks about a successful process. The second addresses how the outgoing ED should be involved. The third talks about the need for diversity on the search… Read more
Tag: reference check
An Executive Director Search that Went Wrong
This post is my fourth in a series about hiring a new CEO or Executive Director. The first post talks about a successful process. The second post addresses how the outgoing ED should be involved. The third post talks about the need for diversity on the search committee to avoid unexpected bias. In this post, the board member reflects on racial and gender bias and a flawed process where a close decision was rushed without examining objections to the candidate. Strategies for Getting the Right Person for Your Organization By a Dedicated Board Member, Somewhere in USA These events happened… Read more
Hiring a New CEO or Executive Director
Hiring a new CEO or Executive Director is one of the most important jobs – if not the most important job — for a board. You are hiring the person who represents the organization, sets its direction, and motivates its staff and stakeholders. As I interviewed board members around the country, the significance – and the difficulty – of making the right decision came up over and over. So, I am going to dedicate several posts to this topic. And I am going start with a story of a successful CEO search – one where several years down the road,… Read more