Articles

I love my allotment. You have a lot of time to think when you’re digging, weeding and watering. And it hit me that there are several parallels between keeping an allotment and governance. Here are my top 10 things my alottment has taught me about Corporate Governance – 1. Preparation is everything When I first

In the third of our series on effective board meetings, we’re looking at board papers. We know that the board pack should be distributed at least a week in advance of the meeting. What should Board Papers contain? 1. Meeting notice The meeting notice is the covering letter for the board pack. It should state

Board members are tasked with many responsibilities – determining strategy, monitoring performance, agreeing acceptable risks and ‘setting the tone’, to name but a few. Arguably the most important task for any board is recruiting the right CEO. The CEO is the leader of the staff team, the face of the organisation, and the interface between

The Chair has a very specific role in meetings. We have already discussed their role in setting the agenda. When it comes to running the meeting, the Chair is like the conductor of an orchestra, with responsibility for getting the best from every participant. The role of the Chair The board represents the leadership of

Here are our 10 easy ways to improve your board 1. Insist on 100% attendance. The easiest way for all of your board members to know what’s going on, contribute to discussions, and make better decisions is for everyone to be in the room. 2. Introduce a board calendar Set dates for your board and

Challenging Behaviour in the Boardroom We all want to go to board meetings where a group of competent people discuss issues and challenge each other in constructive ways to agree decisions for the good of the organisation. The board is a team, and like all teams it consists of individuals with their own styles, attitudes

The vast majority of board members with whom we work hold some common governance misconceptions about their role. These are our top six Governance Misconceptions –   1. I’m a director of a company limited by guarantee. I’m only liable for £1 if things go wrong. This is one of the most common misconceptions about

I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of driving on a journey without noticing what’s around us (we can’t remember noticing landmarks, direction signs, beautiful views) because we’re preoccupied with our thoughts – about an argument we had a few days ago, a meeting coming up tomorrow, a conference presentation next month.  These days, many

Conflicts of interest are regularly in the news. Just last week, Lady Butler-Sloss stepped down from leading the independent inquiry into the way public bodies handled child sex abuse claims after just seven days. As a former judge, with previous experience of dealing with abuse cases, Lady Butler-Sloss was the perfect person to lead the

Questions to Ask Before Joining a Board There is growing recognition of the importance of the role of the Board, both in driving performance and keeping the organisation safe and legal.  Boards are putting more effort into checking out potential new directors before bringing them into the boardroom.  Directors need to do their homework too