05/26/2017

The Five Attributes of a Great Executive Director

by Joan Garry

^{Originally posted online March 3, 2014}

Like many of you, I spent the evening with Ellen on Sunday night (Oscar telecast). But while you were watching her deliver pizza to Meryl Streep and retweeting her selfies (did you know that this image is now by far the most retweeted photo ever?), I was thinking about how great an executive director she would be.

A comedienne as an executive director; I’m kidding, right? I mean, as far as I know, she’s never run a nonprofit. How could she possibly have the needed skill set? I propose it makes no difference. What makes a great executive director isn’t so much about skills as it is about attributes.

Please click here to read the blog post in its entirety on Joan Garry's association leadership blog.