The Savvy Director Blog

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear author Brian Hayward speak about his new book, The Great Chair: A Window on Effective Board Leadership. I was particularly struck by Brian’s comments on the topic of trust in the boardroom, and how it links to the ability to influence others.

Brian’s book is all about board chairs, and why they are more important than ever for effective governance, so his writing reflects the importance of trust in the board chair’s relationship to...

In board governance, the issue of conflict of interest never goes away. The thing is, for some reason it’s way easier to spot someone else’s conflict of interest than it is to spot your own.

As a director faced with a board decision, the need to be free of conflict of interest arises from your fiduciary duty – your duty to govern in the long-term best interests of the organization. A conflict of interest occurs when you have interests that could influence the way you act or...

I’m sure you’ve seen it happen. The board decides to hold an in camera session – or as it’s known in the US, an executive session - clearing the boardroom of all staff.

Outside the closed door, staff perceive it as a signal that something ominous is about to happen. They start to speculate about what’s going on. Is the CEO in trouble? Has something scandalous occurred? Is the company threatened?

Inside the boardroom, the questions are less earth-shaking. How...

Here at DirectorPrep, we create practical tools for board directors who choose a growth mindset. That means we want to collaborate with directors, like you, who choose to believe they can develop their abilities, brains, and talent every time they read their board papers, take a course, read an article, or engage in a discussion with fellow board members about a current dilemma or opportunity.

As directors, when we choose to see if there’s something we can learn today, it’s an...

“There’s increased pressure from...

Have you noticed that even a board made up of individual creative thinkers can prefer the status quo over change? If you’ve noticed this tendency, what you’re seeing is status quo bias – just another cognitive bias that affects our decision-making.

You know the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In other words, if things are working, we’re content to keep them that way. Simply put, status quo bias negatively affects our ability to make...

Robert’s Rules of Order? I’m not a big fan of Robert’s Rules. Who is this guy Robert anyway? Who made him king?

Okay, you’re right, my tongue is planted firmly in cheek. Boards do need to have a way of conducting their meetings and making group decisions. Robert’s Rules provide that framework.

That said, an overly strict adherence to the parliamentary procedures outlined in Robert’s Rules of Order can really be a buzzkill at board meetings. I’ve seen...

If you’re a regular reader of The Savvy Director blog, then you know how much emphasis DirectorPrep places on the value of questions. Questions are directly related to a board’s ability to learn and understand, to think things through and make good decisions. In many ways, a board’s value lies in how well the directors question management, advisors, and each other.

As a director, asking questions helps you fulfill your fiduciary duty by satisfying yourself about...

It’s important for an organization to have clear goals. Goals are where the organization wants to end up, but it needs a strategy to get there. If the goal is the destination, then its strategy is the travel plan.

When faced with a fork in the road, a travel plan answers the question Which road should we take? And it answers many other questions too, such as Which routes will we avoid? What vehicle will we use? How fast will we travel? Who will navigate? Who will be along for the ride?...

Have you ever served on a board with a director you’d consider ideal? Someone you can’t wait to have in the boardroom, to engage in conversation that’s forward thinking, inspiring, and infused with values and goals aligned with the organization you both serve?

If you haven’t experienced that yet, I sincerely hope you do at some point, because there’s nothing like it. No matter your colleague’s background, they come prepared - ready to participate in the...