A maturity assessment of project management is a method to evaluate the current state of process competence within an company. It can also be used to set goals and develop a plan for implementing improvements.
The majority of boards begin at the lower end on the maturity scale of management for boards. They know their responsibilities and potential risks, but they are hesitant to invest time in governance because they believe that it is distracting them from their more important tasks of running the company. It is crucial that boards are aware that governing is a process that requires its own level professional development assessment and evaluation as well as training. It is a risky endeavor that requires imagination, determination to take risks against an external world of demographic and economic trends as well as physical changes to the environment.
The next step for the Board is to take the conscious decision to make the decision to move up the management maturity scale toward ‘The Learning Board’. This means removing the traditional focus on Accountability, Management Supervision and toward a concentration on Strategic Thinking and Policy Formulation. This is a significant shift in the way that boards function and typically requires some outside support to put the new thinking implemented. It also requires the best software solution development of a regular process for openly publishing internal trends regarding the board’s collective learning and the emotional climate. It is also a time when the Chairman, supported by the Company Secretary, should lead the change in the balance of a board’s schedule away from ‘hard’ business performance and towards a more focused agenda on the company’s unique external challenges.