Pamela,
Sorry I haven't responded to your questions about assessment sooner - I was
out of the office on Friday to attend the tail end of the ACM conference and
moderate a roundtable discussion there on boards.
First of all, thanks for the compliment on our work. We have come a long
way in the past few years, and really work hard to create innovative and
exciting programs and publications, and to get our name out in the field as
a resource as well!
You raised some very interesting questions in your message about assessment.
You are right in that it is a very tricky issue, and that many boards do not
engage in the practice. However, there are ways to get your board involved.
All you need is one person to be excited about the idea and to champion it.
Since we at the MTA believe strongly that the board and the director are a
leadership team, and that when assessment occurs it should involve both
partners, either a board member or director would be an appropriate person
to take ownership of the process.
One of the best ways, I think, to "sell" the board on assessment is to
stress that both the board and the director will be assessed. Assessment
often gets a bad rap, it is really about organizational strengthening. A
good assessment tool should let you know a variety of information -
including what you are doing really well, and what areas need improvement.
Whoever is promoting the idea of engaging in the process should let the
board know this - that's it's not going to be all bad news, that they will
discover what they are doing really well also.
While some board members are more knowledgeable and engaged than others, all
board members should want to build the strongest institution possible. And
assessment is one of the easiest ways to do this - it's a clear way to see
your strengths and weaknesses and gives you concrete information to help you
build your strategic plan, identify areas of concern, and to set goals and
priorities.
As far as worrying about someone "hijacking" the process, if one is using a
good assessment tool and has a strong leader running the process this
shouldn't be an issue. A good assessment tool is objective, not subjective.
The way that our tool works is that individual board members and the
director fill out forms on their individual performance, the performance of
the board as a whole, and the director's performance. The person leading
the process then compiles this information, and it is presented in a variety
of ways, including charts and graphs. Done this way, with the right leader,
it would be very difficult for someone to use it to further their own
personal agenda.
Coincidentally, our latest newsletter contains a detailed article that
answers many of your questions in much more depth. (You asked such great
questions it's hard to give a concise answer.) If you respond to me
off-list with your address, I would be happy to send you a copy when it
comes out.
Thanks for your thoughts,
Courtney
Courtney Patterson
Coordinator
Museum Trustee Association
2025 M St. NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036-3309
202.367.2476, 202.367.2180 (FAX)
www.mta-hq.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Pamela Sezgin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, June 07, 2002 6:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Museum Trustee Association's Templates for Trustees
Courtney,
These templates sound great! The Museum Trustee Association always does
such good work. The question is how to get more of our trustees to join
and
be involved.
The other question that I have for you and for the list concerns this idea
of
Board Assessment. It is the current, new thing and museum professionals
are excited about it. I guess we see it as a way of getting board members
to
take responsibility for their work on the board and treat their service as
something professional.
Yet, in practical terms, the boards with whom I have worked are often
composed of people who are not at all analytical thinkers. I might even say
that that way of thinking is alien to them. The boards are mired in
tradition and the attitude that
"we have always done things this way." They don't like change.
Many boards often have interesting psychological profiles and power
struggles
between the members of their executive committees and the museum founder.
So, how do you introduce this idea of Board Assesssment to these
traditionalists?
What is the best way to get them excited about doing an assessment? How do
you get them to take ownership of the process? How do you prevent some
wildcard from hijacking the board and using the assessment against the
museum's CEO, or as an excuse to get rid of the CEO and seize power?
I'm not taking about large, established museums, here. I'm thinking about
small and medium-sized museums that are in the category that AAM calls
"emerging museums." These types of museums are just beginning to
professionalize their operaitons. Usually there is only one, trained museum
professional working there and only a few board members who function.
Thoughts, anyone?
Cordially,
pamela sezgin
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