The Savvy Director Blog
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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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W.A.I.T. "Why Am I Talking?"
Have you ever returned home or back to the office from a board meeting and asked yourself, “Why did I say that?”
Me too. In fact, it happened a couple of weeks ago and it wasn’t the first time. But the frequency has gone down considerably since I’ve discovered and put to good use the acronym W.A.I.T. (Why Am I Talking?).
As we’ve noted in earlier blog posts, the art of asking questions includes waiting for the right time to contribute. And contribute you will with a timely, relevant question...
"Has anyone EVER had a good board orientation?"
I’m happy to welcome back Alice Sayant as today’s guest blogger. Alice is a certified corporate director (ICD.D) and co-founder of DirectorPrep.com.
Alice’s thoughts on board orientation
Lately, my guilty pleasure is binge-watching old episodes of Friends on Netflix. Something that happened in the first season prompted me to think about board orientation for new directors.
I know, I know. It’s quite a stretch to compare the characters in a 1990’s sitcom to board directors. And the Central P...
"Which board committee is right for me?"
From time to time in this space, I’ll be asking guest bloggers to share their thoughts about various board-related topics. Today’s blog is written by Alice Sayant. Alice is a certified corporate director (ICD.D) and co-founder of DirectorPrep.com.
Alice’s thoughts on board committees
Recently I was asked to join a board of directors. I was already serving on a couple of other boards, where I was quite busy with committee work, and so I agreed to join the new board but declined to sit on any ...
"The board package just arrived. And it looks BIG."
You’ve heard the old saying, “If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.” Busy people who get things done – not people who make themselves busy working on their procrastination habits. (Been there!)
Busy, productive people have a way to cut through the clutter and get to the heart of the matter. Don’t be surprised if you happen to notice those same skills in the savvy directors on your board. Not to worry … you are not be that far from being there too.
Today’s blog post is all about...
"I've been asked to sit on a board. Now what?"
“Is this something I want to do?” “Is it time for me to start thinking about serving on boards at this point in my career?” “Am I already over committed and on too many boards?” “Would I agree to serve on this board just to make some money? Oh, it’s a volunteer position – I’ve done my share of those.” Maybe you can relate to this dilemma. I know I can.
What would the savvy director do?
I’m pretty sure a savvy director would have a baseline list of questions at the ready to determine if this ...
Why The Savvy Director?
Some of you know this story … my first board meeting fifteen years ago was a disaster – a horrific experience really. I had been asked to represent the regional chapter of my professional association on the national board. Then, while I was flying to Toronto to attend my first meeting, my local group sent a letter to the chair of the national board demanding that the CEO be replaced, without me knowing about it.
How do you think that went over with my new board?
What kind of welcome mat do y...
Scott Baldwin, ICD.D
Co-founder | Director
Scott has served on boards and provided governance advisory services to boards since 2001. Private company, nonprofit and government agency boards have been his focus. He is now leveraging that expertise with his own director work while helping directors prepare for their board role so they can collaborate, contribute and influence decisions.
