Other Services > Board Assessments

A high-functioning Board is critical for an organization to be successful in today’s world, but the performance of far too many boards falls below what would be considered highly effective. Consider the general characteristics that describe many boards:

Directors come from outside the organization and often the industry
Directors have little or no experience working together as a team.
Directors lack the technical skills to make judgments on many matters because they come from outside the industry
Directors bring a diverse background and experience, and often have conflicting opinions (which is a good thing!)
Directors bring varying levels of commitment and have different expectations of what is required of peers on the board
Boards lack a process for dealing with divergent views and conflict in general

Given these circumstances, it is not uncommon for boards to become dysfunctional. This can occur when a board breaks down into separate factions due to conflicting opinions, or when a board becomes too compliant and unanimously agrees with executive management and one another.

For most organizations, the fiduciary responsibility of a board is to, at the very least, provide a performance review for the CEO or Executive Director, and to provide the overall strategic mission and vision for the organization. Many boards fail in delivering on these two most basic responsibilities.

What is lacking in most boards is a process for self-evaluation and correction so that directors can hold one another accountable and set realistic expectation for performance.

The RealTime Performance Board Assessment is a tool that provides boards with a snapshot of how the board as a team is performing, and how each individual director is contributing to the board’s success. The RealTime Performance Board Assessment is a 360-evaluation, where every board member has the opportunity to provide feedback to every other board member. It also allows the executive director or CEO to provide feedback to every board member. In this way, directors get a complete view of each board member’s perspective of their performance. At the same time, it measures the overall perspective on how well the board is functioning, as graded by the board members themselves.

Conducting an annual RealTime Performance Board Assessment helps boards hold themselves accountable for results while improving communication, collaboration and decision making.

For more information on the Board Assessment download the overview or contact a RealTime Performance sales representative at: (206) 749-9000.