Category: Chair

Without an effective chair, all bets on the adequacy of board performance are off. This has been our consistent observation of the hundreds of boards we have worked with over the last 30 plus years. We are even more certain of this as performance pressure

Category: Ownership and accountability, Role of the board

Most boards are consensus-seeking in their decision-making processes and seldom need to resort to formal meeting (decision-making) procedures. However, as a recent consulting assignment strongly underlined, clarity of constitutional authority and previous

Category: Book review

Governing boards do much of their work in formal board meetings. Continuously improving the planning and conduct of board meetings is therefore central to board (and director) effectiveness. One book dealing with board meetings we have referred to often o

Category: Board CEO Relationship

Boards of volunteer directors often find themselves out of their depth when managing the relationship with their chief executive. The chief executive is an employee of the board, but often ends up managing the board, rather than the board managing the chi

Category: Role of the board

It is a core role of a board to make decisions. This requires a framework that recognises that not all decisions are the same. Some need little attention, while others need a clear, prescribed process.

Category: Policy

There are some things we might reasonably assume, right? For example, that everyone in a position of responsibility knows that the comments they make in a public forum re a form of publication.

Category: Risk

In an earlier issue we posed the question: What is wrong with a typical risk register? We were concerned that too many boards were satisfying their risk management responsibilities in ‘tick-box’ fashion.

Category: Book review

We review "When McKinsey Comes to Town" and "Servants of the Damned" - both from the pens of noted New York Times journalists.

Category: Role of the board

Over recent years, organisations in all sectors have become increasingly aware of the need for sound governance design, leading to an examination of traditional board structures and processes for determining board membership.