Given that this is the longest gap between my articles, I thought I would raise a topic that comes across most commonly with all my coaching clients, no matter where they are on their leadership journey. How to impactfully lead your board.

The word “leading” is deliberate. As the leader, you must set the framework, the content and the tone of the meetings. The board has a responsibility to shareholders and stakeholders in your business, achieved through them supporting and guiding you as the leader, by challenging with strong debate and sharing of their experience and expertise.

In my experience as a CEO reporting to an ASX board, and being on a number of boards over my career, the following are proven learnings and approaches to facilitate a strong and effective Management-Board relationship to maximise the positive impact of the board:

Themes to keep top of mind

• The chair and board will/should support you every day, until the day they fire you. Remember, they are not your best friends, they have significant fiduciary and legal responsibilities as board members. If they need to remove you as leader to meet their obligations, they will – even if you are a major shareholder.
• Boards hate surprises. Your lack of transparency to the board is likely the greatest risk to your employment, sometimes beyond performance. You can be optimistic, but always be honest about the magnitude of the risks and challenges.
• Their number one priority is risk mitigation (sometimes, this is sadly to protect their reputations). Hand-in-hand with number one is the fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders.
• You understand everything about the business; do not expect them to or to necessarily remember everything previously covered. This board will be one of many for them and you may not have met with them for a few months. For all you know, their other responsibilities may be far more challenging than your business, so it may not receive the attention that you expect/wish. Anticipate that most will have read the board papers, but some will not. Your role is not to pander to the least prepared board member.
• Preparation is critical; each one is “career day” so never underestimate the importance of any board meeting.
• It is your responsibility to control the board meeting with a clear agenda, concise content, managed conversation/debate and targeted outcomes from the meeting. If the board meetings are chaotic, it is your fault, not the board’s.

Content of the board meeting:

• Be very clear on what you will present/cover in the meeting, versus what you include in back-up (not to be presented in the board meeting). Be specific on what your objective is for this meeting and what “your asks” are from the board.
• For a 2 to 3-hour board meeting, you are unlikely to cover more than 15 to 25 pages maximum. It is better to have too few pages and then refer to the back-up, than to run out of time and miss your final pages on what you are requesting from the board.
• Some important topics could include:
  • minutes from last meeting;
  • safety performance (must be first topic if safety is an issue in your business);
  • performance trends since last board meeting;
  • projects for the next quarter and full year;
  • strategic update on any key initiatives or product enhancements;
  • sales pipeline/trends/initiatives, and any assistance you may need from the board with introductions;
  • people update, particularly any challenges where you need input;
  • “asks” from the board – how they can assist; and
  • other business.

How to manage the meeting:

1. Hold pre-board meetings with the Chair and any other key investors/board members at least 7 days prior. Pre-wire them on progress and issues, and understand the concerns that they may want addressed. Over time you will come to learn each board member’s “hot buttons”, so be ready.
2. Know what you want to achieve in the meeting and what you need from the board. Make this clear to them in your presentation document.
3. Send the board presentation out at least 5 days in advance to increase the probability that the board will read the document. Even sending out a “draft version” which you update closer to the board meeting is fine.
4. Carefully proofread the document prior to circulation to the board. The quality of presentations demonstrates your attention to detail, plus you do not want to be blindsided by something in the presentation that you did not know about.
5. You must control the board meeting with your agenda and presentation. If the meeting starts going off-track due to one board member, have the confidence to respectfully suggest that that issue not be covered now and that you will discuss this with them later.
6. Ensure you achieve what you want from the board. Hold firm on getting this.
7. In discussions, if you do not know the answer, simply say you will investigate and revert to them. Be concise and transparent; don’t ramble. Own everything, never “blame your team”.
8. At the end thank the board (even if you do not feel like thanking them 😊).

Impactful Leadership can assist you on your journey on having more impactful and efficient board meetings.

Image credit: iStock.com/monkeybusinessimages