The concept of board engagement is not just a theoretical discussion; it is a crucial factor that can make or break a board. Ensuring that board members are fully engaged and invested in their roles is essential to the success of an organisation. In this whitepaper, we will explore some of the ways that CEOs and Board Directors can increase board engagement and create a more effective and efficient board.
The process of board engagement should begin at the recruitment stage. Before new directors are appointed to the board it is important to consider what type of board engagement can be had with potential new directors.
One effective approach is to invite potential directors to attend one or two meetings as observers prior to putting their name forward as a potential candidate. This can give them a feel for the organisation and help them understand the role of the board more fully.
Another approach is to invite potential directors to sit on a board committee that suits their particular skill set and diversity of thought. This can help them to engage more deeply with the organisation and to understand the challenges and opportunities facing the board.
In addition to these approaches, some organisations have started running pre-induction sessions for those people who are thinking of applying to join a board. These sessions provide potential board members with an opportunity to learn about the organisation and the commitment needed to serve on the board. This can be particularly useful for boards that have a membership of professionals, trades, or members of the community who may have little or no experience of being on a board.
Here are 10 more ways a board can do to engage with potential directors at the recruitment stage:
Board engagement should continue during the induction process. One of the most effective ways to engage new board members is to give them an opportunity to spend time with staff. This can help them to understand the business operations of the organisation and to gain the skills needed to enable them to contribute to the board effectively.
Here are five things a new board member can do to engage with key staff at the induction stage of their board appointment:
Board engagement is not only about engaging with staff; it is also about engaging with other board members. One of the key points to consider is ensuring that all directors have access to or copies of the register of interests of their fellow directors. There are five reasons why this can improve engagement among board members.
Every board member should also have a CV of all the other board members so they can understand each board member’s background and what skills and experience they bring to the table. There are three key reasons why this can add to board engagement.
At the start of each year, the chair should sit down with each of the directors and ask them what they want to get out of their next years’ service on the board. That will enable the director to say something like: Well, look I’d like to meet some politicians, or I’d like to be involved in the development of x, y, and z, or I’d really like to understand the impact of cybersecurity and data breach analysis and how that work’s. This can help directors to engage more fully with the board and to understand their role and responsibilities more fully. It is then the role of the Governance (or equivalent) board committee to enact and monitor these aspirations.
The greatest engagement among board members is when they are willing to be personally strategic. This means asking questions rather than making statements. It means no fixed point of view – willing to look at options rather than try to make the world fit their fixed opinion of how things should be. It means willing to be the question and function from curiosity and possibility, not be or hold onto the answer. It means willing to receive information without judgement and look at it as it is – not as good or bad, right or wrong. And most importantly, it means that the boards’s vision statement is at the centre of all discussions and interactions, so that directors engaging with each other always hold the vision as the focus for inquiry and interaction.
Four or five days prior to a board meeting, directors are requested to attend a half-hour session where they ask questions to the Chair and CEO about clarifications on any of the information within the board papers that they’ve been sent.
Board engagement with key executives is crucial to the success of the organisation. In particular, the quality of the reports provided by these key executives to the board is essential to ensuring that the board can make informed decisions. These reports need to answer the ‘so what’ question and provide the board with the information it needs to engage in powerful, forward-looking strategic discussions among themselves and with the organisations key executives.
Key executives need to be trained or given experience in having these conversations with directors. There are still too many boards that do not allow key executives to attend board meetings, which is a major red flag. Boards cannot fulfil their duties effectively without access to expert inside knowledge.
Once a year or possibly every six months, it’s important for key executives and the Board to sit down and ask themselves; how can we work together to ensure we’ve got proper, timely reporting? How are things going? How are we getting the information? Is there an easy way for us to do it? Can we collect it? The key executives can then check in with the directors about what could be better synthesised in the reports the executives are providing.
Unfortunately, most Board reports don’t provide sufficient guidance for the directors to actually have a strategic focus on the questions that they should be asking. Good reports can help them do that.
When reading a board meeting pack, the director needs to be able to focus on the really important information that provides them with insight and is the springboard for strategic discussions at the Board level. The directors should be looking for the top-level conversations they need to have as a Board. They don’t want to be distracted by copious amounts of information that doesn’t address the ‘so what?’ question.
The board and key executives need to act and engage as a true partnership, as the Leadership Team for the organisation, each with different responsibilities but with a built-in trust that is supported by ongoing evidence.
It’s important that the key executives understand that the role of the board is not to monitor; in fact, our view of the board is that its role is to ‘make the choices that create the future for the communities we serve’. So, therefore, Board reports need to help the directors know what the choices might be, how they might create the future, and they’ve got to take into account within the communities they serve. So, any Board report should address these key issues.
Finally, board engagement with key stakeholders is essential. Boards need to broaden their understanding of the organisation and their sector by engaging with a variety of stakeholders. This can include customers, suppliers, regulators, and other relevant parties. The board only knows what the board knows, so it’s vital to broaden the scope of information and insight provided to the board.
There are many ways for the Board to engage with key stakeholders. Here are just a few.
In conclusion, board engagement is a crucial factor in the success of any organisation. CEOs and Board Directors should consider implementing the above strategies to increase engagement and to create a more effective and efficient board. By doing so, they can ensure that the organisation is well-run, with engaged and invested board members working towards a common goal.
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