The voluntary sector is chock full of talented, tireless, selfless people all trying to better their communities and the country as a whole. Generally speaking, there exists in the sector a generosity of spirit and an understanding of the inherent need to maintain a social safety net for those less privileged in our society. Needless to say, stewarding this ideological army of volunteers, helpers, staff and board members is one tough job; but executive directors of organizations, foundations and associations do it daily. The executive director (ED) is the fulcrum between day-to-day management of the office and the board of directors. It’s a unique and rewarding position, but according to many who occupy it, it’s also a lonely one.

Peer learning

In a sector that deals primarily in people and communication, it’s hard to imagine ever getting lonesome, but this can happen to EDs, who sometimes dwell in a social limbo between their staff and their boards without anyone to let off steam with.

Val Mayes, executive director of the Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (ECVO), understands the pressures of her position and sympathizes with her sector peers. “EDs have a lot of knowledge, but it can quite often be a lonely position,” she says. In response to this, ECVO recently began a new project called the Peer Learning Circle. The program is targeted at EDs and offers them an opportunity to pick each other’s brains during monthly get-togethers. “It’s a good opportunity to learn from others and the things they’ve learned in their own institutions. We’ve found this a very good model,” adds Mayes.

Keeping loneliness at bay

In Toronto, Michelle Martinez is director of programs for Altruvest Charitable Services. Her organization offers the BoardWorx Executive Director Program. The program, provided free of charge to those who qualify, focuses on governance issues using interactive classroom settings, peer learning circles and mentoring in order to help both new and experienced EDs navigate their ways in their leadership roles. According to studies and feedback she gets from participants, the program is a vital one for EDs.

“Directors are under stress out there,” says Martinez. “Very often [EDs are] in an isolated role in the organization. Often they’re the only senior staff member, so it’s not as if they can share challenges with their staff or their bosses. Aside from the classroom training they get with Boardworx, there’s also peer learning circles. For six months they meet as a group to discuss specific issues around governance and are able to network and find support from other directors. This helps address some of the challenges of feeling isolated or not feeling supported or understood. They can also bond, connect and maybe vent a little,” she says laughing.

Eileen MacKenzie, ED with the Community Foundation of Mississauga, took the Boardworx course and immediately found it touched upon her needs as an ED. “I could talk about dynamics and situations and get feedback that would help guide us toward potential solutions,” she says. “I could also listen to the challenges that my colleagues faced and their approaches: what worked and what didn’t work. These kinds of roundtable discussions help build a sense of commonality [so] I felt less isolated in my work. Many of us have kept in touch and continue to talk with each other and use each other as a peer resource.” Of course, EDs also deal with issues besides loneliness and the need for peer validation. There is a lot to learn and EDs want education.

Sourcing courses

Anita Srinavasan is program manager for the Maytree Foundation‘s new Executive Director’s Institute (launching February 2007). The Maytree program “offers cutting edge programming in emerging leadership competency areas such as complexity theory, social entrepreneurship, human resources, complexity-inspired governance, change management, resource development and marketing,” according to their website. The program is co-run and administered through York University‘s Shulich School of Business. Srinavasan believes EDs will flock to this offering based on the dearth of voluntary sector leadership management curricula.

“This is a unique training opportunity. It offers a way that directors can bring their contexts and their own work to an educational experience. So it’s very much an applied learning module,” says Srinavasan. Continued learning and professional development are also two things EDs desperately want.

Learning is a full-time job

Allison Pond is executive director of Accessible Community Counseling Employment Services (ACCES) in Toronto. She was promoted to the job from within and was surprised at how much she needed to juggle and learn to excel in her role from the very start. “I inherited the board and so one of the most important things to learn was governance. To make the board [functional] took awhile. I could have had a lot more education and training to go into this role…that may have been more helpful at the beginning,” she admits.

“I think sometimes us EDs forget that we’re learning as well. Most of us get into these positions and stay for a long time and don’t think we need any training, but we constantly do. It’s just a matter of juggling the time. But my board has been completely supportive of any training that management wants to do,” says Pond.

Mayes sees the same need for continued professional development so EDs can work on weak areas. She admits it’s tough to do when you’re an ED, but she was lucky enough to find a simple solution to her own management deficiencies. “My feeling is that most people who enter into ED jobs are expected to be jack-of-all-trades. A lot of people will come into the job being strong in some areas and less strong in others. For me, the particular area where I didn’t have a lot of expertise when I first began was in bookkeeping. So I hired a bookkeeper part-time; I’m smart enough to know to get someone who does know what they’re doing with that,” says Mayes.

That being said, the need for professional development is sometimes overshadowed by the need for understanding and support by funders and boards about other crucial issues, issues like human resources management for instance.

HR anyone?

Pond cannot stress the importance of capacity building enough. “When you look at something like organizational development…how do you build an organization? We grow and try to build capacity at the same time, but how do you do that? The reality is you need to advocate with funders to advocate for good organizations. [ACCES] is fortunate because we’re able to use our resources to build our infrastructure. As an ED I wouldn’t want to work at an organization that doesn’t have resources for that.” But not all EDs have that luxury. And the human resources question vexes many EDs.

Back in Edmonton, Mayes knows this challenge all too well. “Without question, the whole HR issue is huge. Finding, recruiting and retaining good staff, particularly in Alberta in this economic boom, is hard. We’re competing with fast food restaurants that are offering $10, $12 or $14 per hour plus tuition pay. And we’re offering less. It’s tough to find good staff,” she says. And if that wasn’t enough for EDs to deal with, there is the issue of wanting to get along well with the board.

Board management

The fact is that, at some point, all EDs have to report to and influence their board of directors. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes not.

MacKenzie expounds on the problems that can occur with boards. For her, board management is right on top of her list of priorities. “One of the biggest challenges we face as EDs is building a common understanding and commitment to identified strategic goals,” she says. “Each board member comes to the table with unique skills and desires about how they want to participate in their role. It can be challenging to foster a sense of personal leadership within each individual member while maintaining the commitment of service to the organization. ‘Leadership’ and ‘serve’ are two concepts that we need to integrate better.”

The struggle continues

Obviously, EDs have plenty on their plates all the time. But that comes with the territory and what’s needed is patience and perspective.

“I think the ongoing challenge can be the ‘forest for the trees’ situation. On a day-to-day basis, priorities ebb and flow and we can be pulled in many directions. It is an ongoing challenge and sometimes requires a conscious effort to remember to consider the big picture,” counsels MacKenzie. Sound advice.

Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is president of WordLaunch professional writing services in Toronto. He can be reached at andy@wordlaunch.com.