Can you improve your Board’s effectiveness?
“Good governance makes good sense”, Mervyn King
All successful organisations share at least one characteristic – high quality boards, but as any number of sports examples show, it is not enough to simply have high quality people running a business. Governance is much talked about in the context of large companies and some of the corporate governance methods used by them are simply not relevant for smaller undertakings. However, there are a number of methodologies used which can be useful to all organisations and one of these is independent board evaluation. This method measures performance and provides clear feedback to ensure improvement and growth.
Larger companies have developed a relatively standard process; for smaller undertakings they can be flexed to achieve the needs of individual organisations.
What does a Board effectiveness evaluation bring to you?
- An independent assessment of how your board works
- Insight into how it compares with similar organisations
- A detailed report and analysis
- Recommendations
Potential benefits
- Establish an opportunity for board members to self reflect, review and assess areas for development and growth
- Offer a tool to measure performance, capability and competence
- Encourage an environment of continuous learning
- Improve working relations, communications and efficiencies
- Improve reporting
- Identify patterns, shortfalls and gaps
How do we go about this?
- A detailed review of key documents including board papers and accounts
- Attendance as observers at a board meeting
- Detailed and confidential questionnaires to be completed by each director
- Confidential interviews conducted with each director
- Detailed report delivered
Key individuals
Stephen Kimbell
Stephen’s background is as a solicitor with over 30 years of experience sitting on boards of companies, professional partnerships and charities as chair, executive and non-executive.
Stephen is a Visiting Fellow at the Cranfield School of Management with a long term interest in governance and board effectiveness.
A practical and pragmatic approach to improving business efficiency.
Karen Kwong
Karen is a highly experienced executive and business psychology coach
Karen spent nearly 20 years at a senior level in the fund management industry before deciding to move her focus to getting the best out of people
Karen combines practical and very real experience, skill and knowledge together with psychology based insights to help businesses, boards, teams and individuals rediscover and reinvigorate themselves professionally. She has worked as a co-founder to businesses, an advisor to CEOs as well as been an interim COO for a start-up
Karen is also a trustee for the Shackleton Foundation.