Over time, the manner in which a board behaves is how it prepares for its meetings, analyzes issues, creates reports and manages changes to data https://healthyboardroom.com/is-your-team-ready-to-handle-a-board-crisis/ and information. Boards are generally not aware of this, but a well-designed maturity model can help them understand and chart their improvement.
While an annual review brings an unbiased approach in assessing governance practices, an assessment of the maturity of the board gives a deeper and more thorough analysis. These assessments also give boards a clear roadmap to take them to the next level of governance maturity.
The majority of boards start at the lowest stage of board management maturity. They are boards that are willingly to comply, who are aware of their responsibilities and the public’s exposure but view governance as an imposition to their “real” jobs of running the business. To get to the next stage – Two Two is the initial step in removing boards from viewing governance as an administrative burden and towards developing their home proficiency in strategic considering.
Maturity models are usually divided into three to five levels, which assess the level of governance within an organization. They assess areas like the supervision of risk, board management and stakeholder engagement. The first stage, Level One, is typically established by unplanned processes without formal standards or alignment, while the third and the second levels have more clearly defined and understood methodologies. These methods could include benchmarking, interviews, or questionnaires. Interviews can reveal the team’s commitment and enthusiasm for specific processes while surveys administered by an independent third party are more thorough and provide a more balanced view of a board’s current level of maturity.