Organisations should review their criteria for recruiting and appraising Board directors.
This was the message delivered at a conference this week at Roffey Park on the dynamics and effectiveness of British Boardrooms.
“Some organisations put more effort into recruiting graduates than Board members,” said John Gilkes, Chief Executive of Roffey Park, who chaired the event. “The challenge is to develop a cohesive team at the top that is strong enough to withstand any domination from any one powerful individual.”
To improve Board effectiveness, say Roffey Park, new Board members should have the ability to challenge, a ‘can do, will do’ attitude, technical expertise and an affinity with the organisation’s culture and values.
New non-executive directors should also be given a thorough induction, as well as training and coaching, according to the conference organisers who also say that organisations should have appropriate, Board-specific performance management processes in place to evaluate Board performance.
“Board members have a duty to challenge each other constructively,” said John Gilkes. “Dissent on the Board is important, otherwise overassertive individuals can dominate the proceedings. This culture of openness at Board level can then be cascaded down, resulting in a more effective and productive organisation.”
One Response
Did anyone notice…?
Did anyone notice the recent news story about the executive who was about to be appointed to the board of directors?
Two weeks before his appointment, the company learned that he had fabricated an impressive list of university degree qualifications. At the time of the discovery, he had already been an employee for some seven years!
Who else shares my worry about how many employees similarly fabricate their qualifications?
And do you think that in doing so, such employees indicate a general propensity to dishonest?
David Chernick
Reed Screening