Our Board Assessment Process:
Step I – Interview with Board Chair:
Being a Board Chair is a very complex job with key responsibilities including regulatory, policy development and management, Board Member recruitment and retention, Executive Leader recruitment and management and fiduciary assurance and strategic direction. Our goal is to immediately partner with the Board Chair as we seek to understand key motivations, frustrations and dreams. From this initial partnership, we begin to set the next key steps in place.
Step II – Board Assessment & Evaluation Checklist:
We have developed a Board Assessment & Evaluation Checklist that addresses all of the critical functions and legal obligations of a well functioning Board of Directors, whether in the non-profit or for-profit domain. Just as you wouldn’t fly a plane without doing an initial checklist, no Board Chair should sit in the Boardroom cockpit without a checklist assessment. The Board Assessment & Evaluation Checklist provides a rigorous tool for reviewing board performance and structure and for assisting in setting priorities. A review of the Board’s Policies and By-laws for comprehensiveness and compliance is part of our checklist.
Step III – Board Self-Evaluation Questionnaire:
This questionnaire provides important feedback to the Board Chair regarding the satisfaction of Board Members with their work on the Board, the Board’s relationship with Executive Leadership and any additional distinctive competencies required of existing Board Members and future Board Members. Done correctly, the Board Self-Evaluation Questionnaire provides a generative pathway for the Board to assure that the Mission, Purpose and Vision of the organization are truly embraced by the leadership, employees and communities/customers served.
Step IV – Committee and Task Force Evaluation:
Board Committees routinely range from Finance, Audit to Compensation Committees and they are governed by Board Policies and By-Laws. Using the Governance as Leadership framework, where Boards take a generative approach to assure effective stewardship, we are strong advocates of the Board Task Force approach to this responsibility. A Board Task Force is chartered by the Board Chair to address a critical opportunity or problem for the organization related to effective governance, policy development, by-laws oversight or strategy assessment.
Examples of Board Task Forces might include:
- Board Member Acquisition Strategy
- MPVB Strategic Positioning Statements
- Marketing & Brand Positioning Strategy
- Philanthropy Strategy Development
- Outsourcing Revenue Cycle Management
We offer suggested best practices on the use of Task Forces by Boards to include:
- Effective Board Chartering of Task Forces
- Effective Monitoring of a Task Force with Performance Improvement Methods including:
- Statement of the Problem
- Task Force Mission Statement
- Diagnoses of the Problem
- Remedies
- Measurement
- Replication