A board management maturity model is a method used to determine how well your board of directors is managing itself. Its purpose is to help the board members improve their performance and help make the business more successful. The process typically involves a self-administered questionnaire that is followed by a meeting with consultants who interpret the results. Most models use a scale of three or five levels to evaluate different aspects of your board’s performance. The first level is characterised by unplanned processes without formal standards or alignment, whereas the third and second levels have more well-defined and included processes.

The most important element of www.healthyboardroom.com/evolving-role-of-company-secretaries/ any maturity model is the way it prioritizes the board’s learning. Knowing the current level of maturity of your board will help you decide what skills you’ll need acquire in the future. Some models also provide general estimates of how long it takes to move up the level at which you are currently (e.g. “a level change is approximately six months and a reduction of 25% in productivity”).

Most boards start at bottom of the maturity scale. They are the less conforming ones who are aware of their responsibilities as well as the risk they face. They are reluctant to allocate more time and money than is necessary to governance, since it takes them away from their primary tasks of managing.

They need to realize that governing, is a distinct, distinct, and very different job, is not the same thing as executive management. It requires a completely separate level of professional education assessment, evaluation, and funding. It is a high-risk activity that tests your understanding, imagination and willingness to take considered risks against an interconnected and messy external world of physical and political environment economics, social and technological advances and demographic trends.