Self-evaluation tools for assessing a nonprofit board member's performance are all over the web. Over the years, these tools have proven helpful in moving board members to think about their contributions. The cumulative scores also help the Board Chair and CEO think about board development.
But the more I think about the "so what" of board self-evaluation tools, the more I want to suggest that this approach is way too subtle to improve board member performance. Instead I want to urge boards to consider asking their Governance Committees to develop a report card -- a tool with maybe 6-8 indicator areas considered essential to high board performance and helpful in moving board members toward better understanding of expectations and to provide an incentive to make a change or keep doing what they've been doing.
Clearly attendance (on-time) and committee/task force participation would be two areas on the report card. What might be other areas to make this a really effective tool?