As board evaluators our success lies in asking the right questions, listening carefully and reporting what we hear. There are few surprising revelations. Everyone already knows, for instance, that the board should pay more attention to succession planning, or better understand the impact of innovative technology, or impose stricter norms about attentiveness during management presentations.
But there can be a surprisingly wide gap between what board members know and what they will say and tackle directly. Directors may worry that raising delicate topics will violate collegiality. Evaluations are a valuable mechanism to learn how strongly directors feel about certain issues. Sharing specific anonymous comments unleashes the energy for collective and individual improvement. It is hard to ignore key findings delivered in words not numbers. Once boards are moved to change, the key phase of the assessment can begin: implementation.
Change need not be painful. Receiving constructive individual feedback encourages a director to speak more, or more selectively, depending on the situation. Rotating committee chairs or adding new board members can reinvigorate the board’s thinking. We recommend best practices from other boards that are easily adopted.
The result is relief when obvious issues are addressed in a collegial and constructive manner.