Evaluating and Compensating the Ideal Director

The ideal director is one who brings measurable success to the institution. Attendance is up; quality and morale of the staff has improved; systems are working for, not against, the management; and the foundations are recognizing the quality of the exhibitions with additional grants. By developing a measurable checklist of what the museum expects of its director and by evaluating (and rewarding) the director by utilizing that list, the board will be able to measure its success (in hiring the ideal candidate) and the director ‘s success in his or her new job. That list may then be the basis for a bonus paid to the director as part of a compensation package.

The ideal director may come from another museum or from government or business. He or she may have an orientation toward management or toward programs and aesthetics. By incorporating these best practices, a board can very accurately determine what the characteristics of an ideal director are, recruit that person, and then measure the success of that person’s endeavors.

After having gone through the process as described, many institutions now enjoy the healthy dynamic relationship that exists between the motivated board and the appropriate director.

James Abruzzo, Consultant, Consulting, Executive Search, Nonprofit Compensation, Expert Witness, Ideal Director