From Joan Garry

1. Encourage those who “need encouragement.” These folks are not dead weight. They will deliver if you ask. And when they deliver, they feel success and they feel valued. With the right moves and some attention, you can shift some of these into the “self starter” category, thus further marginalizing the “dead weight.”
2. Hone in on board members with high fundraising capacity and low “actuals.” If you can convert a few of these, you can hit real pay dirt. Consider engaging them (rather than ignoring them or being irritated with them) directly in fundraising by giving them ownership of the next development training.
3. Ensure that those with leadership potential are given opportunities to lead. And appreciate the heck out of them. Consider placing one of these folks on the executive committee as a member-at-large or ask one of them to chair an ad hoc committee.
4. Marginalize “negative influence” and “dead weight.” Review the assessment results carefully. Identify a small group – a few stars and a few folks you might not be focused on but who show promise based on their scores. Give that group something to do – plan a retreat, serve on an ad hoc committee, work with staff on strategic planning. Let them shine. Support and guide their efforts to ensure success. Take the extra time to build this group and imbue it with some power and credibility in the service of using them to “tip” the board in the direction of positive action. The message? The bar is being raised. This will highlight (and not in a good way) the “negative” board members and the “dead weight.” If you do this well, those folks evaporate.
5. Capitalize on those with unique value to the organization beyond fundraising.  Meet with each one of them and appreciate her/his unique added value. Have a real authentic conversation and create a plan about how the organization can take best advantage of that. If you don’t, you will lose them.
6. I know. I know. I said 5 but I just have to add a 6th – Use this tool for recruiting. The results of this assessment should show you gaps, not in skill sets but in the nine key areas that board recruitment committees do not always consider. As I have stated, these are criteria that really matter and recruitment efforts should focus not simply on particular expertise but these less tangible and yet no less valuable criteria.