Insights from Starboard: Board Chair Companion

A recurring theme in my board governance workshops and in my writing is the value of ensuring that board meetings include discussion and consideration of strategic issues. As board members, we know we have to do a certain amount of what I call “monitoring,” but board service gets more interesting, and our potential for meaningful …
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In 2005, as I was beginning my consulting career, I picked up Governance as Leadership by Richard P. Chait, William P. Ryan, and Barbara E. Taylor. What I took away from their book was the message that boards need to do their work in three modes—what they described as “fiduciary,” “strategic,” and “generative.” The authors …
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As a new board chair, it would be a major mistake to assume that the chief executive will develop the board meeting agenda and that you’ll simply show-up at the meeting and follow the “script” or, worse, hand-off most of the duties to the chief executive. The board is YOUR team, this is YOUR meeting, …
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As you develop your board meeting agenda, take the time to consider each topic and ask, “What information, education, or explanation will board members need in order to fully participate in the discussion and make a decision?” Without a shared base of knowledge, board members are either forced to sit on the sidelines and not …
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One of the most visible and obvious roles of the board chair is to run the board meetings. Once a month, once a quarter, or whatever your meeting schedule may be, your leadership ability takes center stage. While others will play support roles during these meetings, it is you who will need to take the …
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The board chair and the chief executive need to work as partners. The success that you each have separately and together can hinge upon the success of the relationship and the quality of support you provide each other. The best board chair and chief executive relationships are those where the two work together as a …
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