A board management maturity model is a tool used to examine how your board of directors is managing itself. Its goal is to help the board members improve their performance and make the company more successful. The process typically includes a self-reporting questionnaire, followed by a meeting with consultants who interpret the results. The majority of models employ a three to five levels scale to assess various aspects of the performance of your board. The first level is described as impromptu and without formal standards or alignment. The third and the second levels are more specific and include processes.
The most important element of any maturity model is the way it prioritizes your board’s development. If you know what your board’s current level is it is easy to determine what you’ll require to acquire the next. Some models resource provide generalized estimates on how long it will take to move up one level (e.g. “A level change takes about six months, and it results in an increase of 25% in productivity”.
Most boards start at lowest point of their maturity. They are the reluctantly conforming ones who are aware of their responsibilities and exposure. They are reluctant to devote more time and resources than is needed to governance, because they are unable to focus on their more important tasks of managing.
They must be made to understand that ‘governing,’ is a distinct, distinct and completely different job is not the same thing as executive management. It requires a totally distinct level of professional development assessment, funding, and evaluation. It is a risky endeavor that tests your knowledge of your imagination, creativity and willingness to take considered risks against a messy and interlinked external world of politics, physical environments, economics, social and technological advances and demographic trends.