ABSTRACT
As the first among equals, the role of the chair is a complex one. Chairs tend to be strong personalities but they have to use that strength as a force for good: allowing robust debate to thrive; letting a debate run its course but making well-timed calls about when to coral the debate in, creating tactical interventions to generate the deeper reflection necessary with big, high-stakes decisions; and creating the psychological safety required for directors to feel secure enough to disagree with the chair and with each other. Given the pivotal role that norms and routines play in shaping interactions and dialogue between directors, the chair also plays a subtle role in proactively managing boardroom norms and routines (discussed in Chapter 2 as part of the informal processes of accountability).
This chapter explores the six essential attributes that a board chair should have to unlock the potential and collective influence of the board group in deciding on strategic change. The chapter also addresses three other issues in the context of board leadership. First, it challenges the limitations of leadership being viewed as concentrated in a single role and discusses the model of distributed leadership and the role that all directors play in the collective leadership of the organisation. Second, it explores the relationship between the board chair and committee chairs and the responsibility that directors have for ensuring that they do not over-rely on the committee chairs doing the heavy lifting. Finally, the chapter explores actions that the chair can take in the face of a resistant CEO who is not open to engaging with the perspectives of more experienced others.
A high-performing board, as is the case with any top team, is greater than the sum of its parts, although a number of boards may fail this acid test. The chair plays a pivotal role in ensuring that this test is passed. The chapter provides strategies for how a chair could reform the board evaluation/review process from a perfunctory box-ticking exercise into a transformative learning experience. The evaluation/review process is discussed in more detail in Chapter 7.
