Posted on October 19th, 2009 by Amy Ritman in tips for good governance
We asked 70 senior leaders to share their tips on enabling boards to make effective decisions. Here are some of them.
• Use all available knowledge and experience to make decision- is there another organization using this particular method/equipment/ policy. Can the board learn from others’ experiences?
• Don’t respond to operational pressure to make a decision- the board is responsible for doing what is best for the organisation overall.
• Take necessary time to make the decision – don’t rush into it
• Consider all decisions to be made in light of the organisations overall objectives – and be sure that any decision made contributes toward the over all achievement of the organisations objectives
• Where possible invite an executive with knowledge of the decision to be made to present the business case to the board
• Think strategically about financial implications of decision making
• Consider the implications of any decision and the impact it will have on the organization
• Be sure that any board member who may have a conflicting interest declares this and that the board then acts appropriately
• Collect together all the relevant information prior to the meeting of the board, so board members can read and prepare in advance
• Document the decision to be made and ensure a shared clear understanding of the issue.
• Be absolutely clear about the decision the board wishes to make.
• The board demand regular reviews of strategy to assess relevance of organizational objectives in a changing world; the board rigorously review their objectives to be sure they are ‘fit for purpose’
What would your top tip be? Share it with us in the comment box below.
Tags:
boards,
good governance,
leadership
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Posted on September 15th, 2009 by Amy Ritman in tips for good governance
More from our survey of senior leaders. This time we asked them for their top tips for being an effective board member. Here are some of their tips:
- Executive Board members understand that the decisions and the work of the board is not ‘personal’.
- Executive Board members adopt positive behaviours towards the board: Respectful, informative, open, and never sulky!
- Effective boards are able to maximise the diverse knowledge, skills and ability of all board members for the benefit of the service user.
- All board members use their differences to focus on the service end-user: They understand that making the most of differences will create the best result for the service user
- All board members appreciate and respect the differences each individual brings to the board
- Executives are thoughtful and offer cogent arguments while minimising the paper they offer the board
- Executives are open about difficulties, at best before a difficulty arises. Executives do not try to cover-up difficult information.
- Executives board members offer the board clear, unambiguous information – they ‘tell it as it is’. There are no surprises
- The behaviours of the board are based around mutual respect.
- All board members understand very clearly the role of its executive and non-executive members.
- Executive board members clearly understand their own roles and responsibilities and those of the rest of the board.
- Executive board members have been trained to understand the role of the board and the value of both the executive and non-executive contribution
- Good executive board members are able to demonstrate and describe The 7 Principles of Public Life
- Good executive board members clearly understand the role of the board. They understand the distinctive roles and responsibilities of both executives and non-executive board members.
What do you think? Do you agree with all of these? What would you add?
Tip number two, ‘Effective boards are able to maximise the diverse knowledge, skills and ability of all board members for the benefit of the service user’, especially caught my eye. Boards need to make sure they have a wider diversity of knowledge and skills for the benefit of the wider community. Diversity is essential to get the necessary breadth of perspective to be truly effective.
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Posted on September 3rd, 2009 by Amy Ritman in tips for good governance
We asked senior leaders to share with us the vital traits they have observed in effective chairs of governing bodies. Here are some of their tips:
“The chair may decide that conflict is best resolved outside of the meeting and communicate this to the board, making arrangements for the conflict to be reviewed at an appropriate time.”
“The chair must be absolutely clear about his/her unique, individual role in achieving the organisations goals”
“The chair has a clear view of the ‘big picture’ and stays focussed on that bigger picture.”
“The chair understands the essential purpose of the organisation and its key objectives and priorities, and is entirely focussed on achieving this purpose and achieving these objectives.”
What do you think? What would you add?
Tags:
chair
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