Assessing the board / management relationship

In this section you are required to fill out an assessment form for evaluating the board/management relationship within your ministry. Regardless of your role within the organisation, whether you’re a board member, executive director, staff member, or consultant, this assessment will help you gauge the quality of the relationship between management and the board.

For each statement, use the provided scale to indicate your level of agreement or disagreement.

Exploring the Idea – Assessing the Board/Management Relationship

Regardless of your role in the ministry – Chairperson, board member, executive director staff member or consultant, we suspect that you have had some exposure to the ministry’s board and at least a peek at the quality of the relationship between management and the board. Having just watched a short video on the topic of relationships take a few minutes an assess how you see board/management relationship in your ministry

From my perspective ….

1. There appears to be high level of mutual trust between the CEO (and management team) and the board of directors.

2. Board and management have a good understanding/knowledge of one another – goals, aspirations, gifts/strengths, concerns, etc.

3. It is clear there is a healthy amount of mutual respect between the two groups both individually and collectively.

4. There appears to be an acceptable amount of mutual accountability between the two groups, both feeling able to share feelings about jobs well-done or instances in which performance needs improvement.

5. It appears that the board/management relationship is characterized by a John 13:34-35 kind of love.

6. Board and management appear to effectively work through problems and conflicts with one another.

7. Board members and management treat one another with dignity, respect, and courtesy when together and when apart.

8. There appears to be a lot of active listening and questioning for better understanding between the two groups.

9. It appears that the board consistently holds management accountable but does so in a positive, constructive manner.

10. It appears that management trusts the board’s wisdom and authority when the answer is “no,” “later,” or “come up with another approach.”

Overall, reflecting on your answers above, how would you assess the overall board/management relationship?

Your answers are only visible to you.