One way that practitioners can both add immense value and reduce the risk of ineffective governance processes is by helping the board (or governing body) perform a self-assessment.
The people at Governance Solutions have a newsletter that is worth subscribing to, and in November they had an issue on “Why Board Assessments Matter, and How To Do Them Right”. (I don’t have a link to share.)
It says:
Directors who see board assessments as a positive, value-added experience understand that they are on a governance journey. Along that path, assessments steer them in the right direction, revealing what they’re doing well and what could be improved.
The benefits have long been clear.
Board assessments boost organizational performance. In our experience, every issue that organizations confront can be traced to a failure in governance — the wrong leadership, ineffective strategy, poor policies or no financial controls.
They enhance board effectiveness. The assessments ensure that each director has the required skills to be the most effective and that, as a whole, the board represents a diverse array of experiences and perspectives.
They concentrate on the often forgotten “G,” of ESG, or environmental, social and governance strategies. Evaluations can reveal if the board has effective control of the…
