What We Do
The purpose of Leading Governance is to support brilliant corporate governance by developing leadership in the Boardroom.
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Governance Reviews and Board Development
Governance Reviews – The UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 states “There should be a formal and rigorous annual evaluation of the performance of the board, its committees, the chair and individual directors. The chair should consider having a regular externally facilitated board evaluation”. Leading Governance has extensive experience of carrying out Reviews of Governance and Board Effectiveness, and we provide a succinct, bespoke Report and Governance Action Plan offering clear next steps, to enable leadership of the next phase of the development process. We consider structures, processes, behaviours and relationships, and assess the current position against best practice guidance. Many of our clients also ask us to provide them with a tailored Governance Manual, to support the Board to move forward within a clear, agreed governance framework. We are often engaged to offer practical help with some of the Board Development processes, including:
- Skills Audits and Board Member Recruitment – mapping the skills, experience, and diverse perspectives of the Board team against those needed to deliver the agreed goals and manage the identified risks; developing tailored Role Descriptions and Person Specifications, and supporting the recruitment of suitable candidates to your board.
- Board Chairing Services – We have found that, during periods of substantial change, or when there is a need to increase trust in the boardroom, bringing in an experienced Interim Chair to manage Board meetings can provide a period of calm, during which future chairing arrangements can be developed. The resulting improvement in board cohesion is vital in order to demonstrate leadership to the staff team, and to enable the Chief Executive to act with confidence.
- Governance facilitation – Independent specialist facilitation for Board Away Days or other crucial conversations enables full participation by all Board members, and can provide a firm but fair input of challenge with positive intent to take the Board team forward in its thinking.
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Resources on the Leading Governance website
All of the templates for the documents we recommend for the Governance Manual are on our website. Becoming a member of the Leading Governance website provides access to all of the practical guidance documents, tools and templates we have developed over the years in one easily accessed ‘One Stop Shop’ for governance materials. The resources are grouped into:
People – guidance for recruitment, induction, development, roles, responsibilities, relationships, and more
Purpose – guidance on vision and values, strategic and business planning, reporting formats, legal duties, and more
Processes – guidance on building the governance calendar, agenda planning, effective meetings, away days, risk management, and more
Performance – guidance on review processes for the Board, Board Members, the Chair, the Chief Executive, Committees, meetings, and more
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Training
Leading Governance offers a range of learning opportunities for those wishing to improve the effectiveness of their Board, and through the Board, their organisation. We also provide bespoke learning and development opportunities for Boards, on topics including:
- Legal responsibilities, standards of governance and best practice guidance
- Roles and responsibilities of the Board, Board Members, the Chair and CEO
- Maintaining productive relationships in the boardroom
- The tasks of governance, leadership and management
- Board skills audit
- Board recruitment, induction, development, renewal, succession planning
- Board and Board Member review
- Board committees
- Effective meetings
- Planning and performance management
- Values, culture and behaviours
- Managing conflict, and having difficult conversations
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Individual support
In order to support Boards to move forward, we provide practical tailored individual services as needed, including:
- Leadership Coaching & Mentoring at Board Level – Effective leadership is vital to good governance. We provide a qualified and experienced coach to create a safe and confidential environment in which Chairs and Chief Executives can receive practical tailored support. We have found that the outcomes from coaching include enhanced confidence and motivation, and improved decision making.
- Mediation at Board level – While differences of opinion in the boardroom can bring a very creative force to decision making, there are times when it becomes difficult for people to see each other’s perspective, and research has shown that healthy relationships are a vital element in effective governance. The complexity of the governance task, and the rate of change in the external environment can put a strain on relationships among even the most experienced leaders. Mediation offers an impartial safe environment in which solutions can be developed.
