Board Self-Assessment is a single of the most important leadership practices that well-performing nonprofit boards employ to ensure the long-term success of their governance. It requires the board members to step back and honestly reflect on their 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 of the board, from surveys and interviews to facilitated discussions. The best method is based on the size of the board, the available resources, and the level of detail you’d like to include in the assessment.

If you decide to use the method make sure you know the objectives of the assessment. Do you board portal software want to enhance accountability, improve governance, or align governance with the goals of your organization? Once you have decided, you can then choose an evaluation tool.

Some tools let you compare your results with other hospitals or health care systems and others focus solely on the governance policies of your organization. Whatever you decide to use it is essential that the tools are impartial and do not make any calls to director individuals. This creates an environment where honest feedback is possible to be given.

Many boards use a peer-review procedure, which requires directors to rate each one another. This can be a valuable and beneficial exercise, but it’s important that the process remains confidential. It isn’t easy for certain directors to speak out against someone else’s decision if they worry that it will be blamed on them. In this instance it is typically better to let the facilitator review the responses to determine which information is relevant to be shared with the board.