“A large part of a board’s role is monitoring the organization’s overall performance. Is it carrying out its mission effectively? Is it fulfilling its legal requirements? Are financial policies being followed? But the full board should also assess its own performance in guiding the organization.” – BoardSource’s The Nonprofit Board Answer Book: A Practical Guide for Board Members and Chief Executives
BoardSource, an organization dedicated to assisting non-profit boards achieve exceptional governance practices, recommends that boards of non-profit organizations such as AACRAO regularly assess their performance. The AACRAO board of directors does this in two ways:
- Following each in-person board meeting, board members complete a survey that looks at the preparation and participation of individual board members and of the entire board at the previous meeting.
- Also, every two to three years, the interval recommended by BoardSource, the board conducts a self-assessment using a survey instrument created for association boards.
As a board member, the surveys after each meeting have provided me an opportunity to reflect on my own performance. Was I adequately prepared for the meeting? Did I participate effectively? Did I focus on strategic and financial oversight and not on programmatic or operational details? During my term as President, I reflected on how well the meeting was planned and conducted, particularly as seen by the entire board.
The board conducted the larger self-assessments in 2011 and 2013.These surveys include ratings in a number of categories: Mission, Strategy, Public Image and Advocacy, Board Composition, Program Oversight, Financial Oversight, CEO Oversight, Board Structure, Meetings, and General Questions. The survey provides ratings and an analysis of the degree of consensus of the board.
As I reported to the board in December, there were improvements between 2011 and 2013 in both average ratings and, especially, in the degree of consensus among board members regarding the ratings. There are also areas where the assessment indicates the board should devote additional attention and I made a number of recommendations for board action. Progress is already being made on many of these, including strengthening board member orientation, documenting processes, setting agendas and making meeting materials available earlier, and standardizing the practice of minutes for board committees. We need to continue to be mindful of our strategic goals and regularly ask the question, “How does this decision fit with the mission, vision, and strategic plan?” We must find ways to articulate the mission and vision to volunteers and the membership. Mostly, the board needs to continue on the path it’s on, establishing strategic direction, ensuring resources, and overseeing performance.
Jeff von Munkwitz-Smith
Past President
January 22, 2014