I’ve been working for nearly 16 years. In that time, I have worked full-time for 5 associations, part-time/ consulted with a dozen more and interviewed or have been interviewed at even more then I can count. The point is that I have literally been asked EVERY question you can imagine. Some clever ones like “If you were an animal what animal would you be?” Sometimes illegal questions like marital status/ religion/ political positions (borderline red flags). It is important that both Board Members (assuming they are conducting the search) and Association Job Candidates ask the right questions before offering / accepting the position.
First some ground rules:
If you are being interviewed by Board Members for a non-executive level position, you may want to reconsider your candidacy. Here is why…
The Board is micro-managing and not allowing their ED to do his/her job is a big concern.
It can also mean the ED is likely on their way out of the job, which would also be a concern for anyone coming into an office of chaos.
If you are being interviewing for an Executive position and the search is being done by an outside placement company, I would only be slightly weary depending on the situation. I would not immediately remove your candidacy. Sometimes outside firms are hired to weed the list down for a Search Committee. Sometimes there are geographical obstructions. Initially meeting with the recruiter is perfectly acceptable but you will want to meet with key board members later in the process.
FOR THE BOARD (Search Committee)
It sounds vein but it’s evident that candidates who are invited to interview meet your general professional qualifications. What isn’t evident is whether they fit the culture of your organization. For example, a candidate doesn’t need to know everything about airplanes to run an aviation association but they should understand the importance of it all and how it effect’s the lives of your stakeholders. You need to have the confidence that they have the organizations best interest in mind. It is truly the barometer between equally qualified candidates.
This sounds tricky but you need to understand who these candidates are without digging deep into personal backgrounds. Find out where they came from, what they value in life and how they intend to lead. You will be counting on this individual in ways that may not be very clear at the start. Thus you need to know if their values are aligned with the key Board Members.
This all sound vague but your executive staff member will be interfacing with key leaders, general membership and staff. You need to know have they can wear all those hats. Obviously a standard question is “How do you handle a difficult board member.” The answer will tell you a lot about who they are.
You also need someone who has the stamina and drive. Leading evolving organizations with lots of moving parts is NOT easy. You want someone who can be both agreeable but also disagree respectfully. Surface level industry questions only get the candidate into the door. Having a fresh approach with a dynamic set of personable skills is the key to finding your match.
You should NEVER hire someone because they simply know someone in the organization. Furthermore, you should NOT hire a tradesperson in that organizations field to fill the role. For example, REALTORS®s make lousy REALTOR(s) Association Executives, Construction Managers make lousy Construction Association Executives. Car Sales people make terrible Car Association Executives.Managing associations is unique skill within itself. Surprisingly, studies show that the best executives are often ones with zero knowledge of that specific industry before taking the job.
JOB SEEKERS
Here is a free tip before you ever get to the 1st interview. Do an organizational background check. Look into public 990 tax form. Look at their website and dutifully check out who their members are and what their reputations are. I did this once and found out their current president had a pretty long criminal background. They were mostly financial crimes. Considering the Boards have the fiduciary responsibility of the organization, working with that president was not ideal. I’m not even sure the rest of the board members knew and it wasn’t my job to tell them.
I hate to be a cynical about things but Executive Directors have a higher turnover then other staff members. Here is why, staff members simply answer to the executives. The executives have to answer for staff, answer to membership and of course, the Board of Directors. You are probably the highest paid person in the organization and that means you are a top target at all. In my opinion, the reason why executives are paid more then everyone else is because of the occupational hazard of the job. Here is my advice for candidates. When it’s become evident you are the imminent choice for the executive opening, you should negotiate a fair contract. It may even be a simple agreement to offer you “X” amount of months of payments upon termination.
A couple more important questions to ask:
Can you get a copy of their by-laws. Then read it before you interview. There may be some interesting things in that you didn’t expect.
Find out when the organization had its last strategic plan. These should be done every 3-5 years.
Here’s a fun and interesting question: Are there any current staff members currently interviewing for this role. This important to know because if the answer is “Yes” and you get the job expect there to be some friction.
You may also want to ask them for measurable expectations. This comes in handy when you are a year in with tons of accomplishments but they are not recognized by the board.
Will you have the authority to hire and fire staff as long as it’s within budget limitations. You may be surprised to learn that some boards don’t allow you to make personnel changes without their approval.
OVERALL
I don’t want to be cavalier about this but whoever said Boards and Executive staff can co-exist without being friendly and cordial are liars. In my career, I always had certain priorities. Yes, managing a successful association is important as is growing membership and revenue but nothing is more detrimental to your job then a dysfunctional board who you don’t trust or vice-versa. I can’t stress this enough but the interview process is the ultimate platonic date. Each party is deciding whether this is a marriage that can work.