Coaching a Board of Directors

How is the position of executive and board member different?

COACHING A BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETS 4 NEEDS :

  1. Being and acting as a director
  2. Be and act as chairman of the board of directors
  3. Building an effective Board of Directors
  4. Interacting with the top management

 

Each need has its own coaching methodology and appropriate tools.

BE AND ACT AS A BOARD MEMBER

Regardless of the board of directors, being asked to become a board member is always a sign of recognition and “prestige”, but accepting such a mandate means also committing to work towards improving the company as a whole, without counting your time.

 

This new responsibility must be undertaken seriously and professionally.

 

Our coaching formats include :

 

  • Individual or group coaching regarding rights and duties of a director
  • Coaching / simulating the real life based on a case study 
  • Coaching on how to deliver “feedback”.

BE AND ACT AS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

It is important to distinguish between the nature of a chairman’s power and his/her expected role to efficiently drive board meetings.

 

In order to fulfil the role of “chairman of the board meeting”, the following 4 behaviours must be mastered: 

 

  • Master of ceremony: for the smooth running of the debates (time keeping/ punctuality / management of agenda items / fluidity, etc…)
  • Facilitator: so that each director can express him/her-self (collegiality/avoidance of “stowaways” /allocation of speaking time, etc.)
  • Steerer: be the “devil’s advocate” (constructive contradiction / debate / voicing doubts, etc.)
  • Catalyst: to refocus the debate and decide (summary after each topic/validation and voting if necessary, etc.)

 

Our coaching formats :

 

  • Individual coaching – Replace President by “Chairman”
  • Presence of the coach at the board meetings as an observer

BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bringing together competent and willing people on the Board of Directors does not guarantee its smooth functioning as multiple biases can hinder their interactions. One approach in order to reduce this is to create a conducive and methodical environment for all participants to work together effectively.

 

Our coaching formats :

 

  • Evaluating using specific questionnaires and qualitative interviews
  • Training all board members 
  • Time coaching all board members by having a dedicated contact person among them.

INTERACTING WITH SENIOR MANAGEMENT

The two most notorious bodies for establishing certain counter-powers of collegiality are senior management committees (MC) and the board of directors (BD). While the former is composed of company managers, the latter may include representatives from shareholders, employees and at times independent external directors.

 

Their good understanding is a guarantee of the smooth running of the company. 

 

Their disagreement is a source of dysfunction and inefficiency. 

 

Our coaching formats :

 

  • Coaching all members of the management committee, with the presence of a member of the Board of Directors  
  • Structuring a project to be presented to the board of directors
  • Simulating a project presentation
  • Postures: transparency, patience, modesty, diplomacy