Most boards that assess themselves do it the way people buy gym memberships in January, sincerely, occasionally, and without follow through. In governance reviews I regularly find the same pattern of assessments completed some years and skipped others, findings never translated into development plans, and no owner assigned to turn results into improvement.
Why the event model fails
A skipped year breaks trend visibility, so the board cannot tell whether it is improving. End of calendar timing makes the exercise retrospective, capturing what happened without leaving room to adjust. Descriptive reporting, information without decisions attached, becomes a recurring task that consumes time while contributing nothing measurable. Producing information is not the same as using it.
The cycle model
A functioning assessment cycle has four properties. A fixed annual timing, early enough in the year to inform adjustments. A named owner, typically a planning or governance committee, accountable for administration and follow through. A translation step, where findings become two or three concrete development actions with timelines. Add year over year trending, so progress is visible and regression is caught.
The standard to hold
Ask one question of your assessment process, which is whether you can show what changed because of last year’s findings. If the answer is no, you do not yet have an assessment process. You have a survey habit.
Mel Meier, DBA conducts board governance assessments for national and international member organizations, applying the Baldrige Excellence Framework alongside ASAE and BoardSource standards. She serves boards through board advisory, organizational diagnostics, and governance assessments at iB Consulting USA.
Mel Meier, DBA is an applied social scientist and the founder of iB Consulting USA, a woman owned, WOSB certified advisory firm. She advises boards, associations, and executive teams through board advisory, organizational diagnostics, speaking engagements in the United States and internationally, and organizational assessments.
