The business press is full of stories of Boards that have failed in the governance of the organisations they lead. Less space is devoted to the many Boards that believe they are on a continuous path to improve effectiveness and invest in building their capability.
Recently working with a large audience of lawyers and company secretaries, we explored their experiences of building Board development agendas, identifying initiatives that really create director capability and establishing the measures that establish return on investment.
The discussions highlighted three key lessons:
- Annual Board reviews can build Board development agendas but need to go beyond structure and process to explore capability and dynamics. Board development needs to be pragmatic and produce real change, recognising that the starting point for each Board differs.
- The commitment of all Board members is critical before embarking on the Board development journey. This takes time to build and the active engagement and sponsorship of the Chairman is essential. Preparing the ground properly was a precursor to most successful initiatives.
- The insights provided by Company Secretariats are invaluable in building the Board development agenda in that they are in the unique position to see the Boards they support in operation, during formal and informal proceedings.
See Anna Bateson - Articles and Testimonials for the full article 'A positive direction' which is available to download.