ABSTRACT
This chapter describes BoardQ’s proprietary and holistic approach to undertaking a board effectiveness review, taking into account the research and the challenges explored in preceding chapters. BoardQ is a board advisory practice founded by the author. The IP outlined in this chapter is a drawn from the combination of her extensive board and top team effectiveness experience and doctoral-level research.
In the UK, the Corporate Governance Code requires FTSE 350 companies to undertake an external evaluation of their board’s effectiveness every three years. A similar guideline exists in Australia that requires boards to subject themselves to an external review at least once every three years. Some boards are now engaged in undertaking reviews more frequently than the three-year stipulation. However, these reviews are rarely done well and often treated as ‘tick the box’ exercises from which little or no real value is derived in strengthening the board’s effectiveness and accountability. There are several limitations that the proposed approach addresses. These include:
the tendency for reviews to not start from what ‘good’ looks like. Ensuring a clear collective aspiration of a ‘fit for future’ board acts as an anchor for the review and builds collective ownership for the review journey
failure to develop a shared view of the role and work of the board as a critical foundation for attitudes to the exercise of director accountabilities (i.e., the failure to properly test the extent of convergence about the board’s role as stewards)
the tendency to show a clear bias in evaluating process rather than evaluating the quality of interpersonal relationships and board life more generally
failure at the end of a review to have a skilfully facilitated discussion on what the board resolves to change in ways of working.
The chapter proposes a comprehensive approach to address some of these limitations in strengthening effectiveness and accountability.
