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Wherever you are on your governance journey, you'll find this is a place to build your knowledge, discover the latest thinking, and explore valuable insights about your director role.Â
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Joining a new board of directors is like getting on a bus â one thatâs already full of people and is well on its way to its destination.
The tricky part is that the bus isnât stationary. Even as you hop on, itâs already moving.
Whether itâs your first bus ride or youâre a veteran, youâve got to catch your breath, find your place, and settle in for the journey.
In the same way, whether youâre a first time director or youâve already served on a few boards, itâs normal to start a new board ro...
Whenever I spot the word âgovernanceâ in a headline, I notice it. So, a recent article in our local news feed caught my attention. It described issues on the board of a well-known public institution, then went on to say that the board chair had been contacted for comment.
The chair deferred comment to the organizationâs director of communications. The director of communications in turn refused to comment, saying "The board is an independent governing body so any further comment would rest wit...
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If you find your board work a less than enjoyable experience, and board meetings boring and frustrating, maybe youâre part of a dysfunctional board.
When it comes to a board of directors, dysfunction tends to arise from two broad areas â process and people. Youâre probably not surprised that people-centered dysfunction is way more frustrating to experience, and way trickier to fix, than the process-centered kind. Thatâs what happens when you throw human nature into the mix!
Still, there are...
Over the years Iâve been involved in more than a few searches for a new CEO, and, I have to say, itâs got to be one of the most nerve-wracking processes that a board of directors undertakes. There is just so much riding on that one decision. Itâs a process that is fraught with risk â the risk of overlooking the right person and selecting the wrong person.
In recent blog posts, weâve dealt with different takes on the boardâs role in CEO succession â first, the challenge of naming an interim CEO ...
If youâve been hesitant to try AI, youâre not alone â and youâre not behind. Many board directors are still figuring out where AI fits into their governance work.
The good news? You donât need to be a tech expert to benefit from AI. You just need to be curious and willing to see with your own eyes. Thatâs what it means to be an independent thinker.
This weekâs edition of The Savvy Director explores how AI tools â especially DirectorPrepâs ChatDPQâą â can harness AI to support your role as a ...
At DirectorPrep, weâre obsessed with questions. Asking clear, compelling questions is often the best way that we, as directors, can make a significant contribution to discussions and influence board decisions.
We use questions to clarify information, launch and build on meaningful discussions, encourage dialogue, and challenge assumptions. Without questions, how would we explore fresh ideas, analyze problems, and generate solutions?
The concept is simple - better questions kick start better ...
Hereâs a new acronym for you. BANI. It stands for Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, and Incomprehensible. These four words form a framework thatâs meant to describe the current state of the world.
Futurist Jamais Cascio created the BANI framework as a way of dealing with an increasingly chaotic environment â a confusing world that leaves us with the sense that things are spinning out of control. Cascioâs goal was to uncover an understanding of why weâre getting unexpected outcomes, and how the ...
The Savvy Director blog usually focuses on the director role as it relates to the board as a whole. But in the past few weeks, Iâve found myself spending far more time on my role as a committee member. And thatâs not unusual.
With committee work on my mind, it seems like a good time to write about board committees.
I like to include quotations in these blog posts, so I did a quick Google search on âQuotes about Committeesâ. It pains me to say it, but apparently few have ever had anything goo...
As board directors, we often measure our impact by the weight of our responsibilities, the complexity of the decisions we make, or the prestige of the organizations we serve. But when our board term comes to an end, and our memory of all the meetings fades, what truly remains?
Itâs not the title.
Itâs not the time you spent.
Itâs not the governance rules you learned.
Itâs the legacy you leave behind in the hearts and minds of those you served with.
âThey may forget what you said â but t...
I often close my email messages with the words âStay Curious.â
For me, itâs more than just a closing line like âSincerelyâ or âYours truly.â I mean it as a reminder to the reader â and to myself for that matter â to intentionally focus on always bringing a lively state of curiosity to the board table.
I firmly believe that curiosity is one of the attributes that separates a ho-hum board director from a Savvy Director.
And Iâm not alone in thinking that.
âThe best board members are inhere...
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