Cooperative Directors: Perspective and Leadership

Cooperative directors’ perceptions of their roles, knowledge, and implementation of cooperative principles, business decision making, financial analysis, cooperative law, and division of responsibility with management were analyzed using data from forty-eight agricultural and thirty-one rural electric directors. Directors performed well in these areas with the best performance being related to decision-making scenarios. Self-assessments and performance for capabilities/situational items were consistent and favorable. However, opportunities exist to strengthen directors’ informational bases, especially for cooperative law, roles and responsibilities of directors and managers, and financial analysis.