One of the most prestigious posts to date, the executive director, attracts potential applicants with a high level of promising salary. Yes, just to occupy a similar position in a well-developing organization, you need to have a number of in-depth knowledge, have good experience, and even prove yourself not only as a responsible, but also as a smart and inventive employee, who simply does not have a price.
In a nutshell ...
The representative of the highest managerial level, orders to which can only be given by the general director himself, and who has every right to exercise total control both over financial matters and over all the nuances relating to the work of the staff, is all the executive director. It is rather difficult to describe obligations briefly, since they will directly depend on the specifics of the enterprise, on the sphere of the economy in which it operates, on the powers that are assigned to the shoulders of this specialist according to the job description.
The list of responsibilities that are performed by all specialists in this profile
If we single out the general responsibilities that any executive director must implement, they will be as follows:
- direct management of the organization;
- strategic and tactical control over the work of each subordinate;
- control over the selection and training of promising employees and the direct implementation of such a duty is also the area for which the executive director is responsible;
- responsibilities of the 6th include control over the correspondence between the planned budgets and the actual expenses of the enterprise;
- direct cooperation with persons who are interested in partnership with the organization;
- control over the course of business processes at the enterprise and their timely improvement;
- modernization of well-functioning systems and organization standards.
As already mentioned, the duties of the executive director are much broader and depend on many factors that the general manager should consider before deciding to create such a position.
Workplaces of specialists
Based on the specifics of the functional responsibilities of the executive director, it becomes clear that such specialists are “found” only in medium and large enterprises. In large organizations, such a position is simply necessary so that control over the activity takes place at the most perfect level.
Requirements for potential applicants
The functional duties of the executive director mean that they will select such a specialist after lengthy checks, because no owner of the company or CEO will decide to assign responsibility to the first counter candidate.
So, the requirements that the applicant must meet:
- higher education (the specialty will already depend on the sphere of activity of the enterprise, although a higher economic education is, in principle, universal);
- the executive director of a duty will begin to implement well only when he has at least three to five years of experience in the same field in which the enterprise itself exists;
- experience in direct negotiations, as well as understanding and active use of budgeting principles in practice;
- knowledge, understanding and ownership of the laws and regulations that apply today.
Personal qualities that help to fulfill duties at a high level
The Executive Director will be able to fulfill duties only when he will also possess a number of personal qualities, including:
- The makings of a leader.
- Understanding that all the actions that he controls should be aimed at the result.
- The ability to stay calm in the most stressful situations. The duties of the executive director imply that he must be able to make informed and effective decisions in conditions of lack of information, as well as as soon as possible. Most often, this process is accompanied by pressure from direct management or lack of understanding on the part of staff, as well as the reluctance of potential partners to make concessions. The executive director must maintain a cold mind and not make any decisions under the influence of emotions.
- Discipline. Executive Director Responsibilities An LLC or any other form of enterprise can be fully implemented at a high level only if the specialist is able to discipline not only his staff, but also himself.
Where is the best place to look for such a specialist
As the practice of many successful organizations shows, the most correct decision of the CEO will be as follows: try to find a worthy candidate for such a position from among the managers of his own enterprise who managed to show that they possess all the qualities from the above lists.
It should be noted that a person acting as an executive director can be found in another organization that operates in the same area of the economy. You can only get such a specialist if you can offer more favorable working conditions than your competitor.
Interesting conditional classification of executive directors
Depending on the direct duties assigned to the executive director, the main goal of the activity of such a specialist may be:
- Search for new directions of enterprise development. The main goals, which in this case are set before the specialist, will be aimed at finding new ways to manage and exploit the resources of the enterprise. It is important to build the work process so that business performance really increases.
- Establishment of the most productive process of the company. In this case, it is important for the owners of the organization that the executive director be able to become a real mentor for the whole team and share his knowledge, skills and secrets of activity with other representatives of the senior management.
- Fulfillment of all duties of a manager. Such a goal can be set before the owners or the CEO of a company that is at the peak of its development, and it just needs a person who can be completely entrusted with all the control levers. It is important that such a "successor" could not only maintain a high level of indicators, but also increase some of them.
- Separation of duties between the executive and CEO. If the enterprise is large enough, and the executive director can partially assume the responsibilities of the general, thereby positively influencing the activities of the company as a whole, then it is worth looking for a specialist who will be able to accept the position of partner. Collaboration, mutual understanding and common goals are the three pillars that the company will hold on to once the new CEO has been hired.
And a few words about responsibilities
In addition to the above, there is also a list of responsibilities, the fulfillment of which is not provided for in regulatory documents, but will help to raise the status in the eyes of direct management.I would especially like to highlight the obligation to increase mutual understanding in the team between the senior management and ordinary employees of the organization. The executive director, who will be able to create not just a team from individuals, but a friendly and united team, is simply doomed to respect from the management.
