The role of the Board has changed, and it needed too. No longer is the board a group of old school cronies who get together a few times a year to catch-up on old times. Today’s board needs to be a massive strategic asset to the company, or risk falling behind in the market.
Deloitte recently published an outstanding paper on how the CEO can help shape the board into being such a strategic asset (read it here). They note that directors want to be more involved in strategy and discussions at the top level. To help with this, based on their research, following is a summary of their seven tips on how CEOs can engage the board in becoming a “strategic asset”:
- CEOs, it’s really up to you – it is incumbent on CEOs to take the lead in cultivating the shift to a “strategic” board.
- Be fearlessly transparent – “CEOs who think they are God’s gift to the business world are not great listeners”
- Take advantage of tension – constructive tension may even be necessary to bring the best out of a board – to drive higher-quality dialogue, and therefore higher-quality outcomes.
- Facilitate the board experience, not just the board meeting – a CEO can help take a more strategic role by influencing what board members experience outside the boardroom – for both the full board and individual board members, including interacting with board members between meetings.
- Curate information, and then curate it again – Boards are only as good as the information they have access to, so ask the board what’s working, are they getting the right information, what do they need, and what information should be left out.
- To chair or not to chair? Think about it very carefully – no one size fits all and the leadership structure is somewhat dependent on the individuals in the roles.
- Say your piece on board composition – CEOs should not be shy about proactively and strongly signalling what specific capabilities are required of a board that is truly qualified to weigh in on matters of current and future strategy.
The full paper is easy to read, and packed full of really useful information. So take the time to find out how to make your board a true strategic asset.