How a board functions by the way it prepares for meetings, examines issues, comes up reports and manages data changes over time. The board is usually unaware of this, but a well-designed maturity framework can help them understand and track their development.

While an annual review provides an unbiased approach in assessing governance practices, a board management maturity assessment provides a deeper and more comprehensive analysis. These assessments provide boards with a path that can help them reach the next level of governance maturity.

Most boards begin at the smallest level of board management maturity. They are boards that are compliant, who understand their obligations and public exposure but see governance as a burden to their ‘proper jobs’ of managing the business. The first step is moving the board away from viewing governance as a burden for the administrative, and towards developing the ability to think strategically at home.

Maturity models usually have three to five levels that assess the quality of governance practices within a company. They assess domains such as the supervision of risk board management engagement of stakeholder and governance effectiveness. The first level is usually defined through impromptu processes without formal standards or alignment, while the second and third levels have more clearly documented methods. These may comprise interviews, benchmarking or questionnaires. Interviews can show the team’s enthusiasm and commitment to a specific procedure as well as surveys administered by a third party independent are more methodical. They also provide an overall view of the board’s current maturity level.

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