Evaluation – Steps to Improvement
Assessing the performance of subordinates is championed by virtually everyone regardless of the organization. Chances are good that those reading this blog are expressing some form of affirmation to the aforementioned statement; some exuberantly. But, who is evaluating the board and the execution of its role?
A board’s pursuit of excellence should be perpetual; which means every board member at every meeting should be cognizant of how well they carry out their work. Good board evaluation (of the board as a whole and its individual members) fosters the quest for improvement and diverts the temptation to settle for the status quo. Every board should have a competent process for objectively assessing effectiveness at fulfilling its work in the context it designed for itself. Engaging this process should take place annually.
Objective, systematic and rigorous monitoring of board performance must be solely against pre-determined criteria. What would that be? Start with this question: in the past twelve months has the board been consistently compliant to its own policies? You might choose to rank them using a Likert scale format (1-5), 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree. Based on previous blogs, consider the following list.
1. The board defined its role in writing and remained true to it
2. Board meetings are free of personal agendas and politics
3. The behavior of each board member contributed to board success
4. Board members have effectively demonstrated trust in board context
5. The board Chair has been a key to board success over the past year
6. The board maintained a strong governance position rather than gravitating to management
7. The board established and communicated a clear vision for the organization?
8. The board done a good job monitoring progress of the organization toward vision
9. The board adequately protected the organization with clear policy
10. The board established a values-based context for leading
11. The board adhered consistently to its own values
12. The board recorded its job products and delivered them on time
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