Board Member Self-Assessment

Name

Role/ Position on Board

PART ONE – My competencies – a ‘self-assessment’

‘Self-assessment’ refers to you making judgements about your own achieve-ments and skills, what you like and what you don’t like about yourself. It is a tool to help you stand back and look at your-self in a new way, to reflect on where you are now and what you want from the future.

Competencies are skills - things you can do – which are acquired through work ex-perience, life experience, study or train-ing. They can be knowledge, attitudes, skills, work values, or personal values. Competencies you have can be used in all aspects of life – they are transferable.

It is important for you to assess what you feel you are competent in and therefore what you can contribute in your role as a Board Member.

The following competencies have been grouped under four headings with defini-tions for each category and each compe-tence sub-category.

Please read through each definition and then grade your strength or weak-ness against each.

You should think about this in terms of improvement and development of each competence – which ones are you com-fortable with and which ones you have difficulty with.

Please use the following grades:

PART ONE – My competencies – a ‘self-assessment’

4 Excellent Outstanding strength with no areas for improvement3 Good Strengths outweigh areas for improvement2 Satisfactory Some weaknesses which need to be addressed1 Poor Significant weaknesses which need development

MANAGING SKILLSThe skilful handling and controlling of resources, programmes and projects.

Communication

Drive & Determination

Problem Solving

Planning & Organising

Decision Making

Initiative

Exce

llent

4G

ood

3Sa

tisf

acto

ry2

Poor 1

The ability to communicate clearly, accurately and concisely, orally or in writing, to listen, comprehend and to check understanding. The ability to transmit infor-mation to others.

The desire to get things done; the ability to set and meet challenging goals, create measures of excellence and constantly seek ways of improving performance; and the existence of a positive ‘can-do’ mentality, anx-ious to find ways round obstacles.

The capacity to analyse situations, diagnose problems, identify the key issues, establish and evaluate alterna-tive courses of action and produce a logical, practical and acceptable solution.

The ability to decide on a course of action, ensure that the appropriate resources are available and schedule the programme of work required to achieve a defined end-result.

The ability to make sound and practical decisions which deal effectively with the issues and are based on thor-ough analysis and diagnosis.

The capacity to take action independently and with con-fidence and to assume responsibility for one’s actions, with the ability to actively influence events rather than passively accepting them.

Team Working

Influence & Persuasion

People Management

Customer Focus

Leadership

The ability to work co-operatively with other members of the team towards shared goals and with a full under-standing of the role to be played as a team member. The ability to recognise and reward the contribution of others and to proactively listen and consult with all team members to build a strong team spirit.

The ability to convince others to agree on or take a course of action, persuading others to support a view-point to achieve their participation.

The ability to manage and develop people and gain their trust and co-operation to achieve results.

The exercise of looking after the interests of external and internal customers to ensure that their wants, needs and expectations are met or exceeded.

The capacity to inspire individuals to give of their best to achieve a desired result, delegating work appropri-ately and fairly and providing them with development opportunities, feedback, support, encouragement and coaching. The ability to motivate and gain respect from individuals and the team as a whole by providing a clear direction and setting achievable standards of behaviour.

PEOPLE SKILLSThe skills needed to be able to interact with individuals and groups effectively

The ability to generate ideas, concepts and possible options; to adapt them to different situations and to identify new ways of doing things.

The ability to gather, analyse and interpret data, verbal or numerical, about people or situations, with the drive to seek out information and carry out research.

The ability to evaluate people and situations and to reach logical, unbiased decisions, interpreting key mes-sages and meanings.

The capacity to take a long-term and visionary view of the direction to be followed in the future, looking at issues in a wider context in order to rise above the day-to-day detail and to challenge the status quo.

The ability to read, spell and to communicate through written language.

The confidence and competence to work with numbers and the ability to solve arithmetic problems with an understanding of the ways in which numerical data is gathered by counting and measuring and is presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables.

The ability to understand and analyse financial infor-mation and take appropriate action. For example, this may be to improve profits, reduce costs, effect yields, etc.

The ability to manage all aspects of a business so that it runs smoothly. This includes interpreting external mar-ket factors and the interrelationships of many internal forces such as people, financial and administrative.

Your ability to use IT, such as word-processing, spread-sheets, databases, email and the internet.

The ability to ensure the systems and processes of the organisation are run effectively and that they comply with legislation. The ability to interpret rules and make sure they are applied.

The ability to promote a business effectively with the use of advertising, media and PR.

Creativity

Analytical Ability

Judgement

Strategic Perspective

Literacy

Numeracy

Financial Acumen

Business Acumen

IT Skills

Legal / GovernanceAcumen

Marketing Acumen

HARD SKILLS The subjects or disciplines gained via formal education or training and practical working experience.

THINKING SKILLS The processes that enable us to form reasoned judgements and solve problems.

Interpersonal Sensitivity

Flexibility

The ability to create and maintain open and con-structive relationships with others, to listen carefully, respond helpfully to their requests and to be sensitive to their needs.

The ability to maintain effectiveness within chang-ing environments, retaining composure and clarity of thought under pressure. The capacity to adapt to dif-ferent situations and cope with surprises.

Your location

Your occupation

Your interests/hobbies

Your network

Your time availability

Where you live or work – is this convenient in order for you to support the organisation on a regular basis by popping in, attending regular meetings etc.?

How well matched is this to the purpose of the organisation or to your role as a Board Member?

How well matched are these to the purpose of the organisation or to your role as a Board Member?

How well matched are these to the purpose of the organisation or to your role as a Board Member?

How does your time availability support your role as a Board

Using a similar approach as Part 1, please grade your level of experience/knowledge against the key attributes listed below. You should think about this in terms of how your experience/knowledge contributes to the organisation and assists you in your role as a Board Member.

Please use the following grades:

Exce

llent

4G

ood

3Sa

tisf

acto

ry2

Poor 1

PART TWO – My attributes

4 Excellent Perfectly matched – will contribute significantly to the organisation3 Good Partially matched – some contribution to the organisation or your role2 Satisfactory Elements of relevance to the organisation or your role1 Poor Of no relevance to the organisation or your role

What experience/knowledge I bring to the role

10 ways to describe my role as a Board Member:

1. Advisory providing expert advice and knowledge to help the organisation make decisions and carry out its work

2. Regulatory keeping a close eye on how the organisation complies with its legal and other requirements

3. Democratic taking particular interest in different stakeholders, to help give the organisa tion direction and ensure they’re brought into the governance debate

4. Educational stimulating debate, learning and sharing of expertise

5. Participatory seeking and supporting the voices of users of its services in decision-making

6. Networker being an ambassador, promoting the organisation and bringing in important contacts

7. Involving motivating and developing Board members

8. Visionary bringing passion to the mission of the organisation and inspiring others to be motivated

9. Leader steering the organisation in the right direction

10. Supporter providing support to the staff and volunteers in the organisation

PART THREE – My role as a Board Member

Using the above definitions, please complete questions 1 – 3.

3. What are my gaps (place in order of priority) [this will form part of my development plan]

1. Which best describes me?

2. Which least describes me?

A board that consists of directors with a diverse set of functional expertise (marketing, engineering, finance, etc) industry experiences, educational qualifi-cations, ethnic and gender mix are better equipped to deal with a wide range of issues facing the organisation and provide executives with advice and consultation from multiple perspectives.

The Board Skills Matrix below is similar to what Vision would carry out when assess-ing the board strength of any organisa-tion. This is something you can complete from your own personal point of view and the expertise you personally bring to the organisation.

You will certainly not possess all the skills required by the board but the whole board should collectively possess all the skills needed. When new board members are nominated, the board should seek to broaden and strengthen its overall com-petence using the Board Skills Matrix.

NOTE: Board Matrix Skills are rated 1 to 10

PART FIVE – Expertise (Board Skills Matrix)

Please use the following grades:

9 - 10 Exceptional experience in this area and contribute greatly during board discussion and to the organisation as a whole

7 - 8 Previous experience in this area and happy to contribute during board discussions

5 - 6 Some experience in this area and happy to give a personal opinion during board discussions

2 - 4 Some experience in this area but reluctant to contribute during board discussions

1 No relevant experience

Yes No

Do you have a copy of the Mem & Arts document? Are you clear about the organisation’s aims/purposes? Do you know what the organisation’s legal status is? Do you know what the legal responsibilities of the Board are? Do you know what entitles someone to be a Board Member? Do you know what your personal liability is as a Board Member? If you represent another organisation, are you clear what your role is?

PART FOUR – My knowledge of the Board’s role

Self-Assessment Metrics

Managing Skills / 24 Attributes / 20 (Found in Part Two)People Skills / 28 Expertise / 92 (Found in Part Five)Thinking Skills / 16 Hard Skills / 24 Skills, Attributes, Expertise / 282

Board Skills Value / 190

EXPERTISE

Board Experience

Listed Board Experience

Finance

IPO

Fund Raising

REMCO

Audit Committee

M&A

Legal

Technical

Operations

I.T/Technology

Procurement

Human Resources

Public Relations

Sales/Marketing/Brand

Executive Management

Political Relations

External Stakeholder Management

DEMOGRAPHICS

Race or Ethnicity

Gender

Languages

Affiliations

Industry Background

Number of Other Board Roles

Board Skills Matrix

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