Even the most successful companies have problems that management would rather keep to themselves.
We work with management teams and boards to develop their ability to have honest conversations about troubling issues, early on.
We work with management teams and boards to develop their ability to have honest conversations about troubling issues, early on.
Leading an organisation is hard work and it's lonely.
A good board will win the confidence of its management to the degree that it will be seen as a safe forum for discussing emerging ideas, projects, successes and most importantly - failures.
Less skilful boards can be seen by management as yet another problem to be overcome. Dealing with the board can turn into its own business objective involving the presentation of the positives and the suppression of problems. Unskilful management, for their part, misuse their boards by wasting their time with poor papers, ambiguous presentation of data and fretting about how to keep NEDs onside and the Chair at arm's distance.
However, when management and board are in the habit of talking openly, problems can be identified before they've become toxic and ideas can be thought through by a collection of minds, from a helpful variety of perspectives.
Quality, early conversations between the two teams enable growth as mistakes are learned from and risks and opportunities are appropriately gauged and pursued.