How Board Evaluation
Drives Performance

From Good to Great

William Felton Russell is, without question, the greatest basketball player ever to play the game.

Not Michael Jordan. Not Magic Johnson. Not Kobe Bryant. Not LeBron James.

William Felton Russell. 

And while there have been some extraordinary players who have graced us with their talents (see the above list), none has done it better than Bill Russell. 

In fact, Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons. 

Eleven championships. In 13 seasons. 

But there’s more. 

He also won two NCAA championships at the University of San Francisco. 

And, and, and, he carried the U.S. team to a gold medal in the 1956 Olympics. 

Nobody in basketball history has put up these kinds of numbers. 

Nobody. 

The real question is not “Who is the greatest to ever play?” but rather “How in the world did he do this?” 

The answer might surprise you. 

Put simply, Russell relentlessly assessed and evaluated his performance after every single game he ever played—and then took the necessary steps to make the journey from good to great.

And, as 2025 draws to a close, we encourage you to employ Russell’s wisdom and to take the same approach with your board.

Five Reasons Why Your Board Should Self-Evaluate.

#1: Board self-evaluation is just good business.

Think about it. If your board is willing to take a hard look at itself, not only does it indicate the quality of the people you have sitting around the table, but it also demonstrates that these people are serious about the role they play in moving your organization forward.

#2: Board self-evaluation demonstrates to your donors that the organization is in good hands.

Make no mistake. There are more nonprofits in existence today than ever before. And today’s donors want to make sure that their hard-earned contributions are being put to their highest and best use. And, if used properly, board self-evaluation demonstrates exactly this—that your organization is committed to operating on a higher plane. 

#3: Board self-evaluation creates opportunities for discussion.

Anytime a board chooses to evaluate and assess itself, it creates meaningful opportunities for discussion. 

These discussions will naturally radiate toward things like overall performance, project accomplishment, and organizational growth. These important conversations, in turn, lead to shared reflection, collaborative problem-solving, and, ultimately, the right steps to take when moving forward. 

#4: Board self-evaluation clarifies everyone’s roles and responsibilities.

Building on the previous point, when boards begin dialoguing on what (and how well!) things are being done inside your nonprofit, all roads lead to “who should be doing what.” 

And when board members see the things that need to be accomplished to move forward, they can begin thinking about how they can use their time, talent, and treasure to help. 

Pretty cool. 

#5: Board self-evaluation weeds out those who aren’t a good fit.

Last but not least, board self-evaluation helps to weed out those who are too busy, uninterested, or just not a good fit. 

And this is a very, very healthy thing. 

In fact, if you want to suck the life out of great board members, invite uncommitted talent to the table. 

A note of clarification is important here. 

When a board takes the time to evaluate itself and, through the process, identifies members who aren’t contributing, it doesn’t mean that these are bad people. It just means that the timing isn’t right (e.g., they may be swamped with other outside responsibilities, etc.) or they just aren’t totally committed to your mission. 

Either way, these are still good people. However, if you want your board to get to the next level, you are going to have to find a way to get these folks engaged, or you have to ask them to step down. 

Granted, this is never an easy thing to do. But, with tact, care, and concern, great boards do it all the time. 

So How Does a Board Self-Evaluate?

This is an excellent question and one that’s been studied for a long time.

Here’s the most useful answer. 

Good, better, best. 

GOOD.

If your board is new to the self-evaluation process, aim for “good.” 

To accomplish this, use a short, simple, and general evaluation form. Include questions like: 

• How are we doing as a board?
• In what areas are we shining?
• What are three things we could be doing better?

That’s it. Easy peasy.

With those three questions, you have officially kicked over the dominoes.

BETTER.

If your board has been doing a basic self-evaluation for a while, then it’s time to move on to “better.” 

To accomplish this, you are going to continue with your general board evaluation (discussed above) and you are also going to do a much more thorough performance review of both your CEO and board chair. 

Because this is the most important relationship within the entire organization, this “better” evaluation is going to go much deeper into the performance of both of these individuals. 

In fact, a thorough CEO/Board Chair evaluation usually involves a structured, often annual, review of performance against goals, leadership, as well as an examination of company metrics (financials, strategy, people, etc.). 

Once compiled, the results are distributed to all board members, and then the conversation process begins. 

BEST.

Hands down, the gold standard of the board self-evaluation process involves evaluating the performance and contributions of each of your directors. 

This is done by presenting each person with a list of questions on which they are required to reflect. After the reflection phase is completed, a full board meeting is convened, and each director will have the opportunity to present their findings and reflections to the entire board. 

Extraordinary Impact

I think Sigmund Freud said it best: “Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.”

And I have no doubt Bill Russell would have wholeheartedly agreed with him. 

In fact, so rigorous was Russell in his self-evaluation that not only did he do it after each of his 1,000+ professional games, but the highest he ever scored himself—on a scale of 100—was a 64! 

S-I-X-T-Y F-O-U-R. 

And maybe this is one of the reasons he won 11 NBA championships in just 13 seasons. 

As 2025 draws to an end, our wish for you is that you have Bill Russell’s courage and desire to take your board’s game to the next level in 2026. 

Wishing you great days ahead. 

Thanks again for all you do.