The risk with some board effectiveness evaluations is that they can be mere box-ticking exercises. Everyone is time-poor, and reflecting on your structures, roles, processes, and performance may feel like navel-gazing to some. If your annual board evaluation simply puts some ratings against a checklist of questions, it won’t lead to identifying opportunities for improvement.… Continue reading Board evaluation done? Now what?
Tag: evaluation
How effective is your board? – Part 6
This post concludes the series on board effectiveness evaluation with a somewhat disparate collection of observations and reflections. Some of the ideas and charts included here might have been quite relevant in earlier parts of the series, but if they were not available at that time, their inclusion here acts as an amplification and reinforcement… Continue reading How effective is your board? – Part 6
How effective is your board? – Part 5
Board Effectiveness Diagnostics Notwithstanding the shortcomings of simple surveys (e.g. one size does not fit all, tick-the-box mentality, etc.), boards can use checklists as mechanisms to ‘take the pulse’ or to perform basic compliance checks. The most fundamental diagnostics your board could use relate to legal and governance compliance – both as regards board effectiveness,… Continue reading How effective is your board? – Part 5
How effective is your board? – Part 4
Reflective Governance Directors of most non-profit boards are volunteers who are time-poor. In my experience, some are reluctant to have their work evaluated, partly because they feel insulted that their honorary work is being opened to critical review (as they see it) as if they were remunerated. And yet, when given the opportunity to identify… Continue reading How effective is your board? – Part 4
How effective is your board? – Part 3
Part 1 of this series on the evaluation of board effectiveness described various characteristics of some different approaches. Part 2 described some of the subjects and foci of board effectiveness evaluation. Part 3 now turns to the selection of methods and measures according to the purpose and intended use of your evaluation. Evaluation Purposes and… Continue reading How effective is your board? – Part 3
How effective is your board? – Part 2
Part 1 of this series on board effectiveness noted that the evaluation of board effectiveness is just one aspect of your overall Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning Model (and that this in turn is just part of your MELD Governance Model). It also suggested that there are various dimensions of board effectiveness, each of which includes… Continue reading How effective is your board? – Part 2
How effective is your Board? – Part 1
Evaluating board effectiveness How do you know if your board is effective?Does your board share a common view as to the purpose/s of effectiveness evaluation?Is there agreement as to what effectiveness means for your organisation?Has your board agreed on an evaluation framework that supports meaningful evaluation of its own effectiveness?How effective is your evaluation of… Continue reading How effective is your Board? – Part 1
X marks the spot for reflexive practice
Reflective and Reflexive Practice According to Plato, Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living” as he faced trial for alleged “impiety and corrupting youth”. Subsequently used to promote the virtues of philosophy, the quote may also be seen as a precursor to more recent encouragements for leaders and professionals to engage in reflective… Continue reading X marks the spot for reflexive practice
‘Dirty’ data in – ‘Dirty’ decisions out
Directors and managers in the non-profit and for-purpose sectors generally like to think of themselves as rational (evidence-based) decision-makers. As in most fields however, decision quality is often compromised due to unconscious (cognitive) biases, and other factors. Evidence and decision quality Data quality is a key determinant of evidence quality. In turn, evidence quality is… Continue reading ‘Dirty’ data in – ‘Dirty’ decisions out
Strategic Causality – Part 2
When ‘strategic causality’ was introduced in an earlier post, it was described as “how causes lead to effects“. Of course, all reflections on strategic planning and decision-making have that recurring theme. Hence, my posts on strategic archery, evaluation, and reflective governance can be seen as background reading for this post (see links below). Dependencies and… Continue reading Strategic Causality – Part 2