Board self-assessment is a key behavior of leadership that boards that are highly effective employ to ensure long-term governance. It requires the board to take a step back from its day-to-day operations and reflect on its effectiveness. This allows the board to actively tackle areas that could be major sources of frustration and friction.
There are a myriad of ways to conduct a self-assessment on your board from surveys and interviews to discussion groups that are facilitated. The best method will depend on the size of your board, the resources you have available and the depth you’d like to add to the assessment.
When you choose the method ensure that you define your objectives for the assessment. Do you want to enhance accountability, improve governance, or align the governance of your organization with its goals? Once you’ve determined this you can then select an evaluation tool.
Certain tools let you analyze your results against other hospitals and health systems and others focus exclusively on your organization’s governance practices. Whatever you decide to use it is crucial that the tools are impartial and do not make any calls to specific directors. This will create a secure environment for honest feedback.
A lot of boards also have the peer review process, which allows board members to review their colleagues as directors. This can be an extremely valuable and productive process, however it is crucial that the process remains confidential. Certain directors might be hesitant to criticize a member of the board for fear of negative consequences. In this scenario it’s generally better to have the facilitator review all of the comments and determine which insights are relevant to communicate to the board.
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