Board development

Research shows that the best and most effective boards build on regular and critical evaluations of their own work. These boards know how to help the organisation thrive. It is about finding ways to make board work even better.

Armed with the knowledge gained from this exercise, the board can then actively choose how closely it should be involved in setting the company’s direction. These boards know how to delegate the right tasks, select the right members, lead the right agenda and obtain the right information to help the organisation thrive.

While the evaluation itself ends with its results, the development of the board already begins with the evaluation. A good evaluation always reveals some important issues about the board’s work, which the board should discuss and address by setting out possible solutions or ways of working.

Evaluating the board’s work is therefore not simply a question of assessing the board, but much more a question of how the board, individually and collectively, can continue to be effective when it comes to contributing to the company’s results and value creation. Put very simply, we evaluate carefully selected parameters because we want to put the findings to use.

At all times, the board must work in a way that adds value to the situation the company is in and is heading towards. When assessing whether the board does this, some variables will be given. These might be the company’s industry, market or products. Other variables can be optimised. These are variables that can be changed in the short term, such as the executive team or the composition of the board. When we talk about developing the board, it is these dependent variables we are referring to.

In many ways, the result of evaluating the board’s work corresponds to an analysis of the board’s situation. It says something about what is and is not present on the board, what works and what challenges the board faces. The question then is what to do with this knowledge. How should we develop it, so that strengths are used and opportunities brought into play, while weaknesses are reduced and threats eliminated?

The specific development needs, opportunities and initiatives depend on each board’s particular situation. Board development essentially falls into one or more of the following categories:

Collective content development is about developing specific insights that the board currently lacks to a sufficient degree. This may include strategic expertise, industry and market insight, or specific knowledge of products and services.

Collective process development concerns the board’s role and ways of working. This may include a board development programme to discuss and define the board’s future role, developing a new annual calendar, planning meetings, defining decision-making processes, or establishing recruitment processes to secure the required capabilities going forward.

Individual content development is similar to collective content development but takes place at the individual level. This may also include, for example, strengthening or updating an individual board member’s industry-specific expertise.

Individual process development may include training selected board members, for example through participation in a board education programme. Another example could be establishing a process in which individual board members participate in development discussions with the Chair.

The value of evaluating the board’s work lies in engaging board members in reflecting on and discussing how the board operates and identifying ways to further improve the effectiveness of the board’s work.