12 - Board Evaluation

Question 1

5 classic phases that a consultant will need to negotiate.

Answer 1

Phase 1 - entry and contracting
Phase 2 - discovery and dialogue
Phase 3 - feedback and the decision to act
Phase 4 - engagement and implementation
Phase 5 - extension, recycle or termination

Question 2

Name the 4 types of external provider of board evaluations

Answer 2

1. independent consultancies (e.g. Boardroom Review)
2. Search firms (e.g. Egon Zehnder)
3. Auditors (e.g. KPMG)
4. Governing Bodies (e.g. CGI, IOD)

Question 3

Outline Kiel and Nicholson’s (2005) board evaluation framework. (7)

Answer 3

1. What are our objectives?
2. Who will be evaluated?
3. What will be evaluated?
4. Who will be asked?
5. What techniques will be used?
6. Who will do the evaluation?
7. What will you do with the results?

Question 4

Outline benefits of board evaluations, following Kiel and Nicholson (2005) (7)

Answer 4

1. leadership
2. role clarity
3. teamwork
4. accountability
5. decision-making
6. communication
7. board operations

Question 5

Leblanc and Lindsay (2010) three crtieria when considering effectiveness of individual chairs and directors

Answer 5

1. Fulfilment of their role description
2. Contribution of specific skills and diverse outlook
3. Personal attributes

Question 6

Techniques in evaluation (4)

Answer 6

1. informal open discussions/structured self-evaluation groups
2. benchmarking against recognised practices and codes
3. standardised evaluation schemes or questionnaires
4. participant observation and analysis

Question 7

Who can facilitate an evaluation?

Answer 7

1. CoSec, SID and/or Chair
2. Nominating Committee
3. Directors could evaluate themselves

Question 8

What restraining forces are there holding back development? (evaluations)

Answer 8

1. Chair’s ego and defensiveness
2. Organisational status quo
3. Time
4. Poor perceptions of evaluation practice
5. Cost