The president deserves to have an annual appraisal that is proactive, one that starts at the beginning of the year and is upheld throughout. If this type of evaluation is not in place or allowed to lapse, the president may become subject to an “off the cuff” evaluation that is usually based on anecdotal issues that creates a skewed system of judgment.

The overall concept of the annual appraisal is to function as a support system to the president while reviewing his performance.

A successful board/president partnership necessarily entails that the board conduct an annual appraisal of the president based upon established criteria. High expectations of the president are laudable – as long as they are established beforehand.

The responsibility for evaluating the president belongs to the board as a whole, but it should be carried out through a three-tiered process:

  1. It begins with the president.
  2. It moves on to the governance committee.
  3. It ends with the greater board.

The governance committee, in conjunction with the president, identifies the presidents’ annual goals. These objectives are based on the ministry’s annual agenda and are firmly rooted in its mission. The governance committee meets with the president during the year to assess the progress, and then at year’s end, reports its findings to the greater board.
Under this model, the board engages the president in a proactive and ethical evaluation
process

The evaluation is based upon established criteria contained in the annual plan of the president. This becomes the basis for the periodic and annual review of the president. The entire board must approve the annual plan for the president.