04-14-1997 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Brimeyer Group, Inc EXECUTIVE SEARCH TK OONSULT1NC 904 Main Street, Suite 205 Hopkins, MN 55343 voice: (612) 9^-0246 fax: (612) 945-0102 e-maiI:brimgroup@aol.com web: http://members.aol. com/brimgroup 0) H Spring Issue April 1997 Vol. 5, Issue 2 The Board/Executive Relationship By James Brimeyer—President This is the final article in our series based on the book Boards Vu?t Make A Differ ence by John Carver. Premous Brim Reports have presented Carver's new vision for governing boards, utilizing policy as a leadership tool, and focusing on results by clarifying the organization's mission. No single relationship in the organiza tion is as important as that between the Board and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Probably no other single rela tionship is as easily misconstrued or has such dire potential consequences. Alternately, this is also the relationship that can set the stage for effective gover nance and management. A powerfully designed CEO position is a key to Board excellence by enabling the Board to avoid the intricacies and short term focus of staff management and tc work exclusively on the holistic long term focus of governing. The CEO, by definition, is the top individual through whom all upward accountabil ity flows. Being accountable to the full Board for organizational performance is a distinct characteristic of the CEO function. However, the relationship between the CEO and any individual Board member is collegial, not hierar- chial. The CEO is accountable only to the full Board and as no Board member has authority individually, the CEO and Board members are equals. The Chief Executive Officer is account able to the Board of Directors for: 1. Achievement of Ends policies 2. Non-violation of Executive Limitations policies Executive Limitations px)licies need to be defined by the Board either in the CEO's job description or as part of the performance evciluation p>rocess. The Board is responsible for monitoring all executive performance. This is effectively done as the information provided to the Board is analyzed and the Board's opinion is usually reported to the staff in the form of a performance evaluation. To do a credible job of judging performance, the Board needs to have pre-established the criteria against which to monitor performance. Such criteria will not only save a good deal of Board and staff time, but it is the only fair way to judge the level of expected performance. Ultimately, organization performance and CEO performance are one and the same, and monitoring either organizational or executive performance must be a con tinual process. The Board and the CEO constitute a leadership team. Their contributions are separable, but once clearly differenti ated, the two roles can be supportive and respectful of each other. TTw Board has the right to expect quality perfor mance, honesty, and straightforward ness from its CEO. Boards can at times be lenient in judging performance, but should never bend on the issue of integrity. The CEO can expect the Board to speak with one voice, clearly define the criteria to be met, and to get its own job done. Brimeyer to Speak at League of MN Cities Annual Conference jim Brimeyer will join Steve Perkins and Don Frederick in presenting "How to Build and Maintain a (3ood Relationship With Staff" at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, June 11. The coitference will be held in St. Cloud, MN at the Civic Center. The conference theme is "MN Cities: Places We Call Home." . iRK* . JOILIU .•-TttA'T