A one-day workshop
Does your board lack energy?
Is it losing its way?
Is it good – but not great?
Boards exist in a world that is increasingly complex, competitive and subject to significant change. Being a ‘good’ board member may no longer be sufficient for real value creation at board level. But it’s sometimes hard for boards to recognise or articulate the areas for improvement or to deal with them.
This workshop is designed to help directors engage in the necessary candid conversations, respond to the need to be professionally curious and focus the board’s energy on moving from ‘good’ to ‘great’. Fully engaged board members make a crucial difference to the organisations they serve, playing an essential part in the process of long-term value creation – this session is designed to help ensure that all board members are fully engaged and ‘firing on all cylinders’.
- An opportunity to reflect on positive boardroom behaviours
- The tools and courage to confront the challenges and opportunities facing your board
- Support in focusing the board’s attention on improving its performance and effectiveness
- An insight into how to blend a culture of discipline with entrepreneurial spirit
- An opportunity to discuss with your fellow directors how to move from ‘good’ to ‘great’
Expert trainer
Sam has some thirty years of experience working with boards and senior management teams. Her work has a particular emphasis on board effectiveness and integrated thinking. Sam’s practical experience is complemented by her academic links to a variety of UK and international institutions where she delivers seminars and master classes on a range of topics including Integrated Reporting, Strategy, Governance, Risk and Ethics.
Session outline
This is an indicative agenda – a starting point for a conversation with you. Sam would be happy to tailor it to your precise requirements. She can also advise on how to position the session in advance with individual board members.
1. What does a high impact board look like?
- Characteristics of high-performing boards
- Examples of positive board impact
- Red flags – dysfunctional boards
2. The Board as custodians of ‘value’
- Composition – looking in the mirror
- The Learning Board
- Working group or team?
- Value: creation, retention and distribution
3. Exploring some common boardroom issues
- Forgetting why the board exists
- Getting stuck in the weeds
- Having difficult conversations
- An inability to build momentum
- Common dilemmas
- Common biases
4. Evaluating the board’s performance
- Inputs: Skills, experience, knowledge assessment
- Activities: Review of board processes and culture
- Outputs: Board deliverables
- Outcomes: Impact on the different types of value
5. Moving the Board from ‘good’ to ‘great’
- Do we want to be great?
- What does the board do well?
- What can we as the board do better?
6. Making it happen
- What are our immediate next steps?
