By Christian Schaffenberger Mieke Weijenberg Richard Moore
June 2024
Each year Board Directors from across Switzerland gather to discuss the most important topics. This year Board Effectiveness was in the spotlight and MU Board and CEO Practice team ran workshops on how to evaluate and improve Board performance.
What to do – and not do – to secure an Effective and Inclusive Board for your organisation:
- What is best practice in testing and developing Board effectiveness?
- What is Best practice in test and improving Board inclusion?
- What are the ‘no ‘go’s’ when it comes to testing and developing Boad effectiveness?
To answer these key questions, participating Board Chairs and Non-Executive Directors added their insights to data collected from the MU BoardScan™ (see information box to find out more). The result of the day was a comprehensive summary of Board Effectiveness best practice.
MU BoardScan™: A science Based Approach to Developing Board Effectiveness
Board effectiveness, performance and impact have been variously studied and described in literature through more than 70 years of applied research.
Effective Boards are those that are successful in their unique context. As a result, no normative model describing the general characteristics of an effective Board is possible. Instead, context-related, and contingency-oriented frameworks are suggested for a better understanding of Boards.
MU BoardScan™ is a research-based framework and tool that provides a sound basis for an MU Expert to analyse a Board and work on increasing Board effectiveness
MU BoardScan™ allows for a thorough and systematic evaluation of the situation and context of a Board and to identify gaps in required effectiveness.
Christian Schaffenberger, Mieke Weijenberg and Richard Moore form MU’s Board and CEO Practice tell us more about what was discussed – concluding on the top 3 answer to the most important questions Board Chairs and Non-Executive Directors raised.
What is best practice in testing and developing Board effectiveness?
According to our survey data, 13% of Board don’t review their effectiveness, and most (62%) that do , do it themselves via the Chair. Only 25% do it with external support. The Participants decided this was not sufficient, and Boards need objective scrutiny and continual professional development – with a special focus on the following:
MU BoardScan Tool Framework | Results from MU Data and Participant Discussion on EFFECTIVE Boards |
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Board Members |
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Board Teamwork |
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Board Impact |
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What is Best practice in test and improving Board inclusion?
CEOs and owners are not always ready or open to discuss Inclusion and Diversity – it is often miss understood as tokenism start-ups are more open to look outside the club for Board members. But they should be. Inclusive leaders outperform those who are not, and Boards set the culture:
MU BoardScan Tool Framework | Results from MU Data and Participant Discussions on INCLUSIVE Boards |
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Board Members |
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Board Impact |
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What are the ‘no ‘go’s’ when it comes to testing and developing Board effectiveness?
Board effectiveness is difficult – and there are mistakes that participants at the Swiss Board forum had experienced. Learning from others challenges accelerates development.
MU BoardScan Tool Framework | Results from MU Data and Participant Discussions – the NO GO’s of Board Effectiveness and Inclusion |
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Board Members |
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Board Teamwork |
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Board Impact |
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Top Three?
In conclusion, Swiss Board forum members raised a broad range of important consideration regarding both best practices and pitfalls in building effective inclusive Boards. The main take aways will no doubt depend on your situation. However the following top three issues were raise at this year’s event:
- Board effectiveness is very important today, and will be vital for organisations outperformance in the future. Improving Board effectiveness is very important.
- Boards should review their performance and contribution to results in an objective and well managed way. Boards must analyse and develop their contribution to results.
- Board members should be systematically and carefully selected, bringing relevant and diverse expertise required for the future - and then work as an effective team that is close to the organisation.
