BOARDS & GOVERNANCE
Governance Advisor
At McLaughlin & Associates we have been offering a highly professional governance advisory service in Vancouver for more than a decade. Principal and Founder Kathy McLaughlin, ICD.D, has served on multiple boards and acted as a governance advisor, consultant and speaker for some of BC’s top boards.
Crown corporations, regulators, member-based associations, not-for-profits and private sector organizations trust us to support them to conduct confidential board, director and board member recruitment; board and management education workshops; and governance manual / board policy development. We also support boards in conducting Executive Director/CEO evaluations; succession processes and recruitment.
We apply our current knowledge of leading global governance practices to help clients set benchmarks, address governance gaps, and recommend new approaches and practices that elevate board effectiveness and engagement.
Board Governance services include:
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Evaluations of Board, Chair, Committees, Committee Chairs, Individual Directors, including Peer Evaluations
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Governance Reviews
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Developing Governance Models, Governance Manuals and Board Policies
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Designing Committee Structures and Committee Terms of Reference
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Supporting development of Board Skills & Experience Matrix
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Board Orientation
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Board Director Recruitment
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Workshops for Board and Management
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Coaching Chairs, CEOs and Individual Directors
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CEO Succession Processes
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CEO Recruitment
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CEO Evaluations
L-R: Lea Anne Sexton, Kathy McLaughlin, Maureen Pilgrim
Board Evaluation
Regular self-evaluation is the hallmark of a well-organized board. Governance advisory experts recommend a board evaluation at least every two years, with individual director peer evaluations annually, or at the minimum, prior to the extension of terms. Working with the CEO, Chair and/or governance committee, we develop customized evaluation criteria that marry best governance practices with the realities of complex board environments within each unique context. Each evaluation process includes some or all of the following governance consulting components:
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Customized online questionnaire to assess overall board performance against the organization’s governance policies and best practices
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Self and Peer Evaluations for individual directors
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One-on-one consultations to obtain candid feedback from board and senior management
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Summary report with recommendations for the board’s consideration
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Confidential Peer Evaluation reports for each individual director, with comparisons against board average
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Workshops to facilitate board action planning on governance gaps
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Assessment of governance documentation and recommendations for updates to manuals, policies and processes to align with current best governance practices
CEO Evaluation and 360 Degree Feedback
One of the important functions of a Board of Directors is the annual evaluation of the CEO. As a best practice, many boards are using an objective third party 360 degree feedback process engaging staff, board and key stakeholder input.
At McLaughlin & Associates we have designed sustainable CEO review processes for numerous organizations including post-secondary institutions, member-led associations, regulators, crown agencies, not for profits and private organizations. We specialize in creating an objective end-to-end process with actionable outcomes including a forward development plan for the ED or CEO.
Contact us for more information. Client references are available upon request.