By: Sandi Verrecchia
CEO Satori Consulting Inc.
The purpose of any board performance evaluation is to ensure all Board members are actively contributing, sound decisions are being made, and that the Board, as a collective, have the skills to effectively provide oversight and direction.
In our opinion, all Boards should be conducting effectiveness assessments but not purely self-assessments. A skills assessment should be the only use of a pure self-assessment. Our position is rooted in two theories.
The downsides of self-assessment
Dunning-Kruger effect
First is the Dunning-Kruger effect based on the 1999 study “Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments,” The study conducted by the authors whose names form the name of this theory, suggests people tend to misjudge their abilities because they fail to recognize the qualitative difference between their performances and the performances of others. In other words, “people tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains” The reverse holds true for high performers who typically have a tendency to underestimate their abilities.
So what, and now what?
The second focuses on the critical thinking model “what, so what, now what”. A self-assessment provides the “what” (self-score) but does not lead to filling in the gaps of “so what” and “now what”. The questions that need to be asked are:
- What does a self-assessment tell the person or the Board?
- What will the individual or Board do with this information?
- How will this information help inform the Board or individual to take action to change?
Self-assessments with a Governance Coach
We believe that while self-assessments are an essential part of a peer-to-peer assessment process, the ‘so what’ and “now what” are extremely important and as such a healthy peer-to-peer assessment process is one that is debriefed with a professional Governance Coach. In this scenario, a person will self assess but the true magic happens when the results are reviewed in conjunction with the assessment of their peers and a coaching approach is taken to unpack the results (did the Dunning-Kruger effect come into play?), create space for self-reflection, and create an action plan for personal change (what, so what, now what). The Governance Coach, who thoroughly understands both governance and coaching, can guide an individual, be a sounding board, and challenge an individual to look beyond the scores to what the scores and verbatim comments are really telling them. Also, taking a coaching approach minimizes the tendency of people to justify results rather than taking a true self-reflective journey through the results. Robert Burns says it best in his famous poem:
“Oh, would some power give us the gift
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion.”
Peer-to-peer assessments
The notion of peer-to-peer assessments can be daunting and people who have had either a previous difficult experience with peer feedback, or are fearful of hearing the perspectives of others, should not be reason enough to hold back from the process. In our experience, these voices can overshadow a Board discussion on the topic and sway a decision. As Board members, we need to always be acting in the best interest of the organization which means sharing one’s thoughts and reservations, but not to the point that one’s personal interest supersedes the organizational well-being. (Off topic but relevant…discussions on Board compensation and term limits also often fall prey to self-interest motivated discussions).
We have witnessed firsthand the shift in individual Board member contributions and entire Board effectiveness as a result of a thorough and confidential Board evaluation process that creates space for self-reflection and learning.
The Bottom Line
Whether your sector is being mandated to conduct peer-to-peer evaluations, or your Board is looking to increase overall governance effectiveness, peer-to-peer evaluations are a best practice in good governance. Engaging a Governance Coach to administer and debrief the assessment will ensure the level of confidentiality and psychological safety needed to allow individuals to truly explore their results and take accountability for their own personal growth and contribution to the Board. The bottom line is better governance and adherence to the fiduciary duties of each and every Board member.
Contact Sartori Consulting to learn more about working with a governance coach or consultant.
