How to Conduct a Board Self-Assessment

Board Self Evaluation

Self-assessment by the board is an essential leadership habit that high-performing boards make use of to ensure long-term oversight. It requires the board to take a step back from day-to-day business and candidly evaluate its effectiveness. This allows the board members to address issues that could otherwise cause tension and frustration.

There are a variety of ways to conduct a self-assessment of your board, ranging from surveys and interviews to facilitated discussions. The best method to use is dependent on the size of the board, available resources and the amount you want to take into the assessment.

Once you have decided on the method, be sure you clearly define what you want to accomplish with the assessment. Do you wish to improve accountability, improve governance, or match governance with organizational objectives? Once you’ve determined this, you can then choose an evaluation tool.

Certain tools let you compare your results with other health facilities and hospitals while others concentrate solely on your company’s governance practices. Whatever you decide to use, it’s important that any tools used are impartial and do not call out the individual directors. This will create a secure environment for honest feedback.

Many boards use a peer-review process, which asks directors to assess each one another. This can be a valuable and productive procedure, but it’s crucial that the process remains private. Some directors may be hesitant to criticize a director due to fear of consequences. In this scenario, it’s often better to have the facilitator look over all the responses and decide what ideas are important to share with the board.