What score do I need to join the MAXFR Network?

There's no pass mark — the Network looks for executive track record, a clear specialism and governance taken seriously. The score simply tells you which of those to strengthen first; applications are reviewed individually.

I scored low — should I give up on NED work?

No — almost everyone starts at foundation stage. The gaps the tool flags (governance training, financial fluency, board-adjacent exposure) are exactly the well-trodden path; a focused year moves most people a band.

Do qualifications really matter for SME boards?

Increasingly, yes. Formal training — IoD or the NEDonBoard NED Accelerator® — signals you take the legal duty seriously, and it's the fastest credibility upgrade for a first appointment.

NED Readiness Score | Are You Ready for Your First Board Seat?

Question 01 of 08

What's the biggest thing you've been properly accountable for?

Accountable means the result was yours to own — both ways.

Question 02 of 08

How much real boardroom exposure do you have?

Presenting to a board and sitting on one are different sports.

Question 03 of 08

Directors' duties under the Companies Act — could you name them?

Section 172 and friends. NEDs carry them in full.

Question 04 of 08

Handed an unfamiliar P&L, balance sheet and cashflow — how do you feel?

Financial fluency is the NED's entry ticket.

Question 05 of 08

Complete the sentence: “Boards should appoint me because…”

Specialism is what gets a first seat; “general experience” doesn't.

Question 06 of 08

How much time could you genuinely protect for a seat?

One seat done properly beats three done thinly.

Question 07 of 08

Does your network and profile know you want board work?

Seats move through people who know you're looking.

Question 08 of 08

An investor pushes a decision you believe is wrong. You…

Independence is the whole job. The honest answer matters here.

NED Readiness — your result

Your score

Scored

Ref MFR / —
Date —
Basis Self-assessment · 8 questions

—

0 / 100

55 = foundations forming · 80 = boardroom-ready

—

Your development priorities

↑ opens your mail app, results pre-filled — or

A note on honesty. A self-assessment can't sit in the chair for you — boards buy judgement, and judgement shows up in rooms, not scores. But the gaps below are the same ones a nominations conversation would find; closing them first is faster and cheaper than discovering them in an interview.

All tools Run the full diagnostic