Executive Director School: Feedback and Guidance

I recently posted that I’ve got some plans to launch an Executive Director School. I had a lot of comments and a good reception to this idea so I’m moving forward with gathering feedback and guidance.

First, when I say Executive Director, I mean staff leader(s) and may use other terms such as co-directors or whatever else an organization might use. Organizations may have a flatter structure with more than one individual leader. For now I’m going to use Executive Director. That is another post.

Second, I see and hear the need for executive director education, training, and support regularly. So I decided to give it a go.

Audience:

The audience for this Executive Director School will be incoming or new executive directors for small to mid-sized nonprofits in Minnesota. It seems to me that a good number of participants would be somewhere in the range of 8 to 15 participants.

Timing:

I’m thinking the course would operate a little like a semester. Start in the late summer/early fall and close in the fall.

I’m envisioning a 10 week course with two hours for each session.

Content:

These are the components I’m considering for an Executive Director School:

• Leadership Approach and Style

• Strategic Planning, Work Planning, Evaluation

• Human Resources, Workplace Culture, Staff Development, Management

• Board of Directors Partnership and Liaison

• Budget and Finance

• Fundraising

• Programs and Services

• Operations

• Communications

• Balance, Prioritization, Self-Care

Course Mode and Delivery:

I’m considering offering this course via Zoom, with optional in-person content depending on the state of the covid pandemic and the geography of participants.

The course would include content prepared and presented by me as well as a lot of interactive opportunities for participants. I am considering having guest “experts” for some of the content.

Workbook:

I’m considering developing and maintaining an online course workbook that would include content for each of the sessions, tools and resources, and “homework.”

Cost:

I’m considering a sliding scale of $750 to $1,500 for the 10 week course.

Feedback and Guidance:

I am very interested in your feedback and guidance.

Please participate in this survey by Friday, March 11:

Executive Director School Feedback and Guidance Survey

I would also like to convene a few small group sessions and individual conversations. Please let me know if this is something you might be interested in. You can note this in the survey or you can email me at amybrugh@gmail.com with Executive Director School Guidance in the subject line.