02 Sep How to Conduct a Board Self-Assessment
Corporate Communications Policy
Board Self-Assessment is one of the fundamental leadership practices top-performing boards of nonprofits employ to ensure long-term governance excellence. It requires board members to take a step back and critically reflect on their effectiveness. This lets the board be proactive and take on areas that could otherwise become major sources of discontent and tension.
There are many ways to conduct a self-assessment for your board, ranging from interviews and surveys to facilitated discussion. The best method is based on the size of the board, available resources and the amount you want to take into the assessment.
When you have decided on the method, be sure you are clear about the goals you intend to achieve through the assessment. Do you want to enhance accountability or improve governance? Or match governance with organizational objectives? After you have decided on this, you can pick an evaluation tool.
Certain tools let you analyze your results against other hospitals and health systems while others concentrate solely on your organization’s governance practices. It is important to ensure that the tools you choose are unbiased and don’t single out directors. This will create an environment where honest feedback can be offered.
Many boards also utilize peer review, which allows board members to review their co-directors. This can be an extremely useful and efficient process, but it is essential that the process stays confidential. Certain directors might be hesitant to criticize a director for fear of repercussions. In this instance it’s usually better to have the facilitator review all the responses and determine what insights are pertinent to discuss with the board.
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