The Handbook of Board Governance, 2nd Edition

11Every Seat Matters

Annie Tobiasand

Vice President, Learning and Engagement, Ontario Hospital Association

Lina Pallotta

Director, Learning and Engagement, Ontario Hospital Association

Introduction

An overreliance on the use of skills-based matrices to identify not-for-profit board directors, often at the expense of truly examining a candidate's fitness and competence to contribute, may be compromising and even handicapping the ability of a board to govern effectively on its mandate. The authors of this article briefly examine the skills-based matrix, including its power and its limitations, and introduce a framework to consider and evaluate “fitness and competence” of potential director candidates to contribute meaningfully to the practice of governance. The 2VArchetype framework is a new dimension to the board recruitment process and should be used in conjunction with a skills-based matrix, rather than replace it.

The Power and Limitations of a Skills-Based Matrix

Not-for-profit boards increasingly rely on skills-based matrices to replace director vacancies. A skills matrix contributes to board diversity requirements using criteria such as professional background, functional expertise, scope and uniqueness of experience, and networks and connections. For a fundraising board, directors with eminence and noteworthy connections are desirable. For a representational board, geographic or population segments are a requisite on the matrix. Figure 11.1 is an example of a not-for-profit ...