How can you use feedback to improve your board of directors?

You should "onboard" your board members. In a unique session with the new member, introduce them to the role of a board member in your organization. Introduce members to your written document that sets board expectations and norms and including bylaws and all legal documents pertaining to membership. Having a checklist to guide onboarding and ensure all necessary legal paperwork is complete is helpful. When bringing new board members into your organization, communicate up front if members are expected to fundraise, the annual calendar of your board's meeting, and any other engagement expectations. I find that putting this information into a contract form and asking for a signature formalizes the expectations for members.

Start by establishing a culture that values open and constructive criticism. Implement regular, anonymous surveys tailored to assess board performance, focusing on areas like decision-making, communication, and leadership. Encourage members to provide specific, actionable feedback. Organize feedback sessions to discuss results and identify improvement areas collaboratively. Set clear, measurable goals for board development and regularly review progress. This approach fosters continuous improvement, ensuring your board remains effective and aligned with organizational goals.

Introduce the new board members to your Board Manual . Take this opportunity to refresh existing Board members of their roles and responsibilities, during this onboarding of new board members.

Using feedback to improve your board of directors involves several steps: Solicit Feedback: Actively seek feedback from board members, stakeholders, and relevant parties through surveys, interviews, or facilitated discussions. Analyze Feedback: Analyze the feedback collected to identify common themes, strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Establish Actionable Goals: Based on the feedback analysis, establish clear and actionable goals for board improvement. Implement Changes: Implement changes and initiatives aimed at addressing the identified areas for improvement. Monitor Progress: Regularly monitor progress towards achieving the established goals and objectives. And finally continue to Seek Feedback.

You want a Board with a diversity of voices but, ultimately, a collective understanding of roles, responsibilities, and the organization's future vision. Sharing feedback between the executive and the Board is key to ensuring the organization moves in a clear, unified manner. The Board should be responsive and use feedback reflectively to benefit key stakeholders. Feedback provides an important input for the Board in refining direction and implementing strategic change.

Honest and constructive feedback that highlights strengths and areas for improvement are important as are the informal conversations that take place with Board friends and colleagues, particularly if they are complaints. The informal network only works well if such feedback is directly passed on to the head of school in a spirit of transparency and respecting the head of school as the leader of the school

Feedback can be constructive and destructive. It is important to distinguish between them. Reinforce key feedback findings by using multiple channels to verify them to events and people. Then act to make changes

When it comes to feedback, it's important to ensure that it's always bi-directional. It's key to both solicit and provide feedback, so make sure before you give it, you've shown you can also take it. Regular, consistent feedback loops will help to build an environment of overall trust and psychological safety.

Agreeing a school improvement plan with the Board forms a framework for feedback and evaluation - and also from different voices which allows genuine feedback on impact and how it affects stakeholders. also identifying areas of improvements. The feedback is also affirmation of improvement and allows commendations and boosts the morale of the pedagogical leaders.

In my experience I've noticed the fulfilling impact of listen and follow the bi-directional feedback given by the "on board" board members. It may open opportunities for the organization and promote a new vision for critical areas. At the end of the day, the Board members are the prior decision takers of the organization and they are in charge to promote a clear picture of the objectives and mission created for the NGO, linked to strategic planning and global/local agenda.

It is important that the strategic plan - is an action plan and that evidence of impact is receives from different sources and shared with board members so that they can provide appreciation - raising morale and effiacy.

If you have a strong board engagement plan with bespoke plans for each board member it makes this process much easier. Board feedback should be a two way conversation as both sides have accountability to the organization in different ways.

It is a great opportunity for honest and robust discussions with board colleagues around material issues and the core 3 - 5 risks facing the organisation from the boards perspective and collectively prepare mitigating strategies to address these, should they ever materialise.

If you have a strong board engagement plan with bespoke plans for each board member it makes this process much easier. Board feedback should be a two way conversation as both sides have accountability to the organization in different ways.