Advisory Board Resources

This CEO evaluation sample form includes some of the key criteria by which a CEO might be evaluated. You will likely want to adapt this evaluation for your own specific criteria.

This chart outlines the stages of advisory board development and helps identify which resources may be the most helpful at each stage of organizational development from launch to maturity.

This list of additional resources may be of assistance for further reading on the topic of advisory board creation and operation.  

There are many similarities between an advisory board and that of a fiduciary board of directors but there are also some distinct differences that need to be recognized. 

Here are some tips for creating an effective advisory board to help you coach the owner on the benefits of good governance and how those flow from having an advisory board in place.  

The composition of the advisory board requires regular attention since the specific roles and expectations within those roles change over time. The two primary roles to start with are the advisory board member and the advisory board chair. 

The flexibility inherent in an advisory board make it difficult to fully define the expectations.  There is also a reluctance to impose any sense of formality on the advisory board. However, leaving many of these issues unsaid, implied or assumed provides significant opportunity for challenges and disagreement later on that could have simply been avoided by having an open discussion and by writing down expectations. 

The very nature of the relationship formed as part of serving on the advisory board is going to give rise to situations where the board member has access to confidential information.  

As the advisory board mandate shifts from more immediate operational challenges and shorter-term issues to longer-term strategic decisions there are a number of key considerations for scaling the advisory board as the business grows

The intent of the selection matrix is to provide a systematic and defensibile means of evaluating potential candidates.

As the expectations and reliance on the advisory board increases there is a need to monitor and provide feedback to the members and management on how well things are going, or not!  

The purpose of the action item list is to document the action items, assign resources and prioritize the list as needed so follow-up can be maintained.  

The purpose of the meeting agenda is to structure the meetings so the chair can keep the advisory board meetings on track, while providing flexibility as needed

The purpose of the reporting dashboard is to provide an overview of the status of key aspects of the business so discussion and actions can be directed towards the most immediate concerns

This sample letter of invitation may be adapted and used to invite potential board members to sit on an advisory board.  

The most common reason for off boarding is the changing needs of the board but it can also be the result of the changing needs of the board member as well.  In either case, the purpose of the letter is to bring closure to the process/appointment.

Succession in a family business is complicated. Every situation has its own variables and nuances; therefore, it is prudent to invest the time to understand as many perspectives as possible before designing a solution.