“As you name a boat, so it will sail,” the same applies to the board structure because all further success and efficiency of the company depend on it. This all happens because a properly designed management committee covers many aspects, and not only the professional knowledge or experience of each member of the Board. From this comes the question: How do you properly evaluate or change your board? First and foremost, it needs to be scrutinized and this article will tell you how to do that.
Where do I start?
First of all, it’s worth remembering that evaluating the structure of the council is not only important for the council itself, but also for the candidate who wants to join. And ignoring the problem of faulty board architecture for too long can lead to great risks and repercussions.
Regardless of the type of organization you have, and whether you’re building a new board structure or rebuilding an old one, you need to pay special attention to things like:
- Sphere of influence -vertical aspect, it includes leadership skills and acumen, work experience, and level of expertise
- Congruence plans -the so-called horizontal aspects that include a balance of personality traits such as strategic intelligence, emotional intelligence, attentiveness, and more
- Congruence and Balance -provides the fusion and convergence of expert knowledge to make the right judgment
Scope of Influence.
Sphere of influence is the industry diversity of your board of directors. To get this aspect right, you can think of your peers as a selected skillset in a vertical orientation.
What is meant here is that your board must have people from different industries with specific expertise that they can bring to your team. If you ignore this, and list board members only from the industry in which your company operates you are shutting yourself off from the outside world and creating an intellectual bubble around you. Isolation is a bad word in times of rapid change when the ability to adapt quickly and well can be the key to business success.
Plains of Congruence
In addition to vertical competencies, your board structure should also include horizontal considerations that add depth to all the work you do. And it starts with each board member separately, but after encompassing all members creating a single operating unit.
Congruence planes are the initial and additional criteria for evaluating new candidates for board roles, typically boards require either standard or a combination of standard and consistent congruence level requirements for candidates.
Coverage and Balance
Coverage and Balance is the final aspect that shapes the character and depth of your board, along with the previous criterion. It relates to two basic concepts:
- Coverage – the need to hire at least one true expert in every area of your board that you have, while still meeting the criteria of a congruency plan
- Balance – a strategic and predetermined match of expertise as it relates to your Board’s areas of influence
So, as previously mentioned, the proper organization of your board structure completely affects the future success of the company. For existing boards, it offers a unique entry point for holistic evaluation without relying on preconceived notions. For newly formed boards, he offers a blueprint for the success and effectiveness of board building. Spending the time to get it right is not only important but necessary.