Board
Introduction: The demands on main board directors, both executive and non-executive, are visible and significant, and increasingly so in the present economic climate. Responsible for providing leadership, governance and guidance to an organisation, the chairman and directors need to enable commercial and operational success whilst meeting exacting standards of professionalism and compliance.
Recent high-profile episodes have thrown some boards under an unwelcome spotlight, but there are many more cases of good and effective boards helping steer their organisations through troubled waters. Most boards now recognise the need for balance, diversity and independence in their make-up; and effective evaluation and development have enabled boards to provide the direction and confidence that their organisation requires. We work with boards in the following areas:
Executive Search: We combine specialist sector expertise with a detailed understanding of the dynamics and requirements of best practice corporate leadership. We have recruited chairmen, non-executive directors, chief executives and other directors for the main and subsidiary boards of quoted and unquoted companies; joint venture, private equity-backed and special purpose companies; and for public, regulatory and voluntary bodies. Whilst many of our assignments are for single positions, we have also helped our clients' structure entire boards, ensuring an appropriate and complementary mix of skills, knowledge and experience at the head of new organisations.
We undertake assignments discreetly and thoroughly, conscious of the sensitivity and confidentiality which characterise most board appointments. We work closely with boards and nominations committees to define their requirement accurately, and bring imagination as well as realism to the process of identifying and securing first-class candidates.
Board Evaluation: There is an increasing recognition that board evaluations are now becoming part of the governance standard for all organisations. While there may be many differing shapes and forms of evaluation, our service goes beyond the minimum requirements of compliance towards a more deep and meaningful evaluation of board effectiveness, thus ensuring that both boards and individual directors have a clear understanding of their relative strengths and development areas benchmarked against key responsibilities and annual targets. The outputs of this process generate definitive and measurable plans for corrective action paving the way for quantifiable improvements in board performance.
Board Development: Boards are complex social systems, frequently making and taking important decisions under stress and pressure. Our tailored development initiatives enable the whole board to work together to address key challenges and objectives. These can vary from addressing external pressures (e.g. organizational performance) to more internal issues (e.g. social dynamics of the board). The outcome is to produce an effective board working seamlessly as a high performing team. Frequently, this work is underpinned by individual coaching arrangements with each board member. In this way individual team member competence is developed concurrently with top team development to maximise the opportunities to do things differently and better.