From conversations over time with many friends and colleagues who are trustees it is apparent that the most important and potentially frustrating and stressful relationship is that between the Chair of Trustees (and the rest of the trustee board) and the most senior paid staff member of the charity.

Whatever the job title – CEO, Chief Executive, Project Co-ordinator – this is the person to whom the trustees delegate responsibility to run the show, requiring reports on a regular basis and the referral of strategic decisions to the board for input and final agreement.

Ultimately it is the trustees who are responsible for ensuring that the charity fulfils its mission and meets its contractual commitments. They must protect the reputation of their charity and watch that it acts legally and ethically in every aspect. Little wonder then that the dynamic between the Chief Executive and the Trustee board is so crucial to the effective performance of the organisation.

When it works well, with agreed aims and objectives, clear lines of communication, regular meetings and a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities it is a satisfying and rewarding partnership that enables the charity to achieve everything it sets out to do.

However, all too often there are cases of CEOs being asked to leave or resigning because the relationship between them and the trustees has broken down. Some disenfranchised employees seek redress through Employment Tribunals which causes more time, energy and money to be diverted from the charity’s purpose. Concern that a public airing of disagreements will result in damage to the charity’s image can lead to the suppression of problems which need to be unpicked and dealt with.

Trustees are often wary of tackling the underperformance of their CEO from fear of the threat of Employment Tribunals or bad publicity, or simply from a misplaced sense of loyalty to the person they recruited and have worked with, often for years.

Sometimes underperformance rumbles on for a long time without being identified or acknowledged. Expectations are low or get lowered as time goes by and the high hopes on appointment are reduced and compromise becomes the norm. Sometimes it is a potentially effective CEO who is constrained by the inadequate management of the trustees who behave inconsistently, insist on making conflicting demands or refuse to engage when their support is needed.

Some trustees who see there is a problem but feel unable to take action will leave when faced with what they perceive to be an insurmountable difficulty and it takes courage, confidence and knowledge of correct procedures to step up and turn such situations round.

Good performance management is vital at every level in an organisation and never more so than at the top. There are lots of resources available to provide support and many articles and publications have been written on the subject. Try CIPD, NCVO and ACEVO for starters.

It isn’t an option to settle for second best or worse and you owe it to your charity to deliver results. What you have to do first is make the decision to take it on and then make the time to do it.