Improving Your Board’s Performance & Contribution

individual director assessments

Individual Director evaluations are an important and effective process to help Board members fulfill their responsibilities and contribute to effective oversight by the board team. When undertaken methodically, strategically and constructively, they can serve to strengthen individual board member capabilities and identify opportunities for improved performance. Using relevance in design and sensitivity in implementation, Board member evaluations should ultimately improve the quality of overall board governance and foster the trust and confidence of key stakeholders.

In highlighting these potential benefits, certain assumptions are made about the design of the evaluation process (e.g., the role of the Board Chair in debriefing Directors on the results of their individual assessments). These steps will have to be clarified to ensure there is confidence and comfort with the degree to which John Dinner would direct the individual Director assessment process.

Individual Director evaluations are an important and effective process to help Board members fulfill their responsibilities and contribute to effective oversight by the board team. When undertaken methodically, strategically and constructively, they can serve to strengthen individual board member capabilities and identify opportunities for improved performance. Using relevance in design and sensitivity in implementation, board member evaluations ultimately improve the quality of overall board governance and foster the trust and confidence of key stakeholders.

chair assessments

In light of the critical role that board-related leadership roles play in overall board effectiveness and governing well, a combined but standalone evaluation process may be recommended for the Board Chair, Board Vice-Chair and Committee Chairs, as applicable.

These positions demand a different set of skills that reflect the unique and critical nature of the role responsibilities. These will be reflected in the evaluation framework and will mirror the specific responsibilities for each role, as well as other attributes which are required to be effective in these leadership positions.