Competitive advantage or hindrance?
On January 17th, 2025, a group of Purpose-led CEOs met in Toronto to discuss best practices for working with their boards. Our presenter, Don McCreesh, governance expert and President of The Garnet Group, shared his insights and knowledge gathered from his experience as a board director, as a facilitator of over 450 board governance training workshops, as a volunteer setting up the governance standards for Imagine Canada, as an instructor at the Directors College and previously from his successful executive career at Celestica, CIBC and Nortel.
Here are 5 of Don’s golden nuggets of advice.
1.Dashboards
When discussing areas of risk or strategic initiatives with the board and committees, using a simple dashboard can be helpful approach to keep the board informed, help directors to understand where to lean in, and focus the time on areas that need it. Such a dashboard can be as simple as “green light, yellow light and red light”, with “red” being topics that will require more discussion.
2.Balance
The Board’s role is to set the strategic balance between Returns that are expected by clients, shareholders, donors and other external stakeholders and Resources required by management to deliver returns and invest in the future capabilities of the organization. The board is in a unique position to ensure that the target balance is set and maintained.
3.Roles and Responsibilities
It is easy to have a great relationship between the CEO and the board when times are good. But when ‘stuff’ hits the fan, that is when the relationship is tested. So, start early to ensure that roles and responsibilities, (e.g., Terms of Reference of the Board and Committees) and processes are well documented. This keeps everyone focused on their role without second-guessing who is accountable.
4.In-Camera Sessions
The Board exists to add value to management through helping to safeguard the organization against risks and provide counsel on strategic opportunities. Each Board and Committee meeting should include an in-camera session with and without the CEO. For the session with the CEO, the Chair should start the meeting by asking “did we add value to you (the CEO) today”. This approach helps to create a safe place for the CEO to speak openly to the board about their input and value.
5.Director Recruitment
Boards need to recruit actively and continually for board CHAIR skills. Most volunteer or new directors are not qualified and do not know how to be an effective board director. Furthermore, most directors are not qualified to be the chair of the board. Developing and continually improving an effective director on-boarding plan and process helps, as does annually reviewing the board skills matrix with each director.
Drop your thoughts in the comments.
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