Edgility is excited to offer a brand-new leadership evaluation service! 

It is common that organizational leaders do not receive a formal review, but just because an individual has the experience and skills necessary to lead does not mean they no longer benefit from a regular conversation with their board about their job performance. It’s quite the opposite for most leaders! Edgility Co-Founder and Managing Partner Christina Greenberg was encouraged to co-create Edgility’s new tool after hearing from placed CEOs and Executive Directors that there was a strong need for organizations to create equity standards for evaluation and success from top to bottom. This new tool seeks to empower an organization’s Board of Directors to develop and track progress toward tangible goals for their leader, monitor performance, and recognize success. However, before considering this tool, let’s return to square one: do you know what a leadership evaluation process entails?  

What makes a great performance review? 

In the United States, performance reviews have historically focused on accountability. In the 1950s, social scientists began arguing for a more development-focused approach, and since then, companies have often switched between the two models. What many organizations have found, however, is that a hybrid approach combines performance review concepts and delivers the best results for both employees and organizations. 

Appraisals should balance evaluating whether organizational initiatives are being moved forward and uncovering areas for growth to be a holistic assessment. Furthermore, a great performance review needs a robust tool that identifies progress toward key metrics and goals and encourages quality feedback.

Feedback vs Evaluation 

To effectively facilitate any staff member’s evaluation, it is essential to understand the difference between feedback and evaluation and to ensure that both play a role in the overall appraisal process. We like to explain feedback this way: Feedback is not advice, critique, or praise. Instead, it is information “fed back” to an individual about the impact of their actions. For example, the statement “When you started to read the slides word for word, I noticed 3 people disengaged and 2 checked their email,” highlights both the action and the impact of the person presenting. 

Evaluation, on the other hand, measures and assesses. It is an accountability tool, in contrast to feedback, which is a coaching tool. As mentioned earlier, performance reviews, whether for entry-level positions or CEOs, are most effective when accountability and development tools are combined. 

Food for thought: The Power of Consistent Feedback in the Workplace: Fostering Growth and Success

How do you evaluate executive director performance?

Evaluating the performance of an Executive Director or CEO is within the purview of a Board of Directors, especially in mission-driven organizations. In fact, it is one of the core duties of a Board to hire, manage and evaluate their organization’s leader. 

A leadership evaluation usually considers metrics similar to a “typical” employee. Still, gathering the data for a CEO or Executive Director performance review is often more time-consuming than for an average staff member due to the amount of feedback needed from various stakeholders. Organizational leaders are also involved with many aspects of a business – more than the average employee – so there is a great deal of data to sift through. The quantity of data can be difficult for board members with busy schedules, limited resources, and competing priorities. One of the defining characteristics of Edgilty’s new service is its efficiency and ability to streamline data collection and stakeholder engagement, which are often the most time-consuming aspects of an evaluation. 

How does Edgility assess executive performance? 

Edgility ties the process of assessing executive performance to these principles: 

• Stronger Partnership: Leaders know that a strong bond between a board and CEO or Executive Director leads to better outcomes for the communities it serves. Edgility’s process focuses on building healthier, more productive bonds between your Board and CEO by making expectations and growth areas explicit and clear.
• Tailored Evaluation Criteria: Leadership evaluations are not one size fits all. We customize our appraisals to assess the aspects of performance that are most pertinent and impactful for each organization, ensuring alignment with the priorities and goals most relevant to current conditions and overall mission.
• Extensive Expertise: Our ten years of experience working with board leadership and governance means we understand board dynamics, organizational needs, and leadership qualities essential for success.
• Efficiency: We’ve fine-tuned the evaluation process to save you time and effort, particularly by handling the intricacies of gathering stakeholder feedback.
• Equity and Inclusivity: We designed our evaluation process to uphold principles of equity, ensuring fair and unbiased assessments that consider diverse perspectives and experiences, thereby fostering staff trust and building a more inclusive organizational culture.
• In-Depth Insights and Action Plan: Data is essential for every level of your organization; a CEO’s evaluation is no different, which is why you’ll receive a comprehensive report from us at the end of the engagement and actionable recommendations for future growth/improvement.

Get Started

Edgility’s CEO/ED Evaluation service was developed by Managing Partner Christina Greenberg, who has over a decade of experience as a board executive committee and governance leader. We implement the service through staff who are experts in talent management, executive search, and leadership coaching. If you’re ready to start or improve the process of evaluating your CEO or Executive Director, review the program details here or contact us today!