I can do it better than the Executive Director

March 29, 2011 |
Valor

There is a sports term called “armchair quarterback.”  The armchair quarterback sits in an area of safety and non risk and wears the “after the fact” glasses and comments on the actions of the person who actually played quarterback in the football game.  The armchair quarterback thinks that the quarterback has underperformed, made some bad plays or just did a horrible job.  Armchair quarterbacks feel that they can do a better job than the person that is actually doing the job.  I have had opportunities to visit rape crisis centers from California to Maine and have met a few Armchair Executive Directors.
Executive Directors have various skill sets, talents, management styles, leadership abilities etc.  Depending on what mechanism you use to measure their effectiveness or worth; some Executive Directors would rank higher than others on the scale of “How in the heck did she become an Executive Director” to “She was born to lead this organization.” 
Sometimes rationales for decision making by Executive Directors may not be necessarily clear to the Armchair Executive Director and may result in unfair and harsh critiques and criticisms.

Armchair Executive Director

“With budget cuts why can’t she just write more grants?”

Executive Director’s Action

Writing grants is one option.  Other options include creating a fund development plan that involves building a donor base, starting a capital giving campaign and building partnerships to secure foundation funding.  These activities take planning and time.

Armchair Executive Director

“Why has she not reprimanded that employee for his behavior?”

Executive Director’s Action

The handling of employee personnel issues are confidential and the specific actions cannot be discussed with staff at large.

 Armchair Executive Director

“She spends a lot of time in meetings and on the telephone, while I am dealing with multiple clients and crisis line calls.”

 Executive Director’s Action

One aspect of my job is to network in the community and build collaboratives to further the agency’s mission.

Most staff at crisis centers have one or maybe two supervisors; the Executive Director has as many supervisors as there are Board of Directors.  The Executive Director is the bridge between the Board of Directors and the staff and volunteers.  The Executive Director is expected to move forward the vision and mission as directed by the board and is also charged with motivating, directing and supporting staff.

To all the Executive Directors that are shaking up the status quo and not accepting things as “this is just the way things are.”  Keep on doing what you are doing and when you see that obstacle; go around it, go over it, or simply go through it.  To my Armchair Executive Directors – I hope you are taking notes; you may be called to duty next.