months at my disposal during which I can ask seemingly foolish questions. I ask many, many questions during that ‘grace’ period. Company executives may be surprised at my ignorance or the quality of the questions. But after a period of exposure and induction you should have some knowledge of the business, and be able to add value.
During the first couple of board meetings you attend, try to listen a lot, try and ask a lot of questions from the CEO and ensure that they give you a thorough induction into the company. If you are appointed to an organisation that has a multitude of operations make sure that you go and visit some of those operations. You must expose yourself to all the underlying operations in order to deepen your understanding. I am often asked where I see myself positioned as a non-executive board member. I do not see myself as the traditional shareholders’ representative. I firmly believe that non-executive responsibilities extend to the interface with management, to the stakeholders and to the shareholders. I really do not believe that you behave solely in the interest of the shareholders. The crux is that you have to behave totally objectively when decisions are taken. There might be times that you have to take a view with the shareholder group that is seemingly disparate with the interest of the rest of the organisation and sometimes vice versa. All the represented groups should feel that you are a custodian of their interests and will act with well considered objectivity.
I have also experienced that the rest of organisational management often look at these boards as a interrogative body; as those guys that are there to make life difficult for them. I want to strongly urge
management to look at all the committees and the board differently. They are there to help and support management and to work with them to facilitate change. If the board has some disagreement with their point of view or intended direction, they have got to learn how to internalise these decisions in a positive manner. Churchill said that ‘advice is least welcome by those that need it most’.
I do not believe that you can be a board member and not participate actively in the affairs of the organisation. One of the difficulties today is that, with access to technology, it is very easy to saturate a board member with info. Board packs used to be in the region of 150 pages, but nowadays, they can be up to anywhere near to 350 pages and more. The problem lies therein that it is not always clear to me as non-executive board member which parts are critical in terms of decision making and which are not. Management has to ensure that information within the pack is relevant and that board members are given adequate time to process the information. Board members have every right to feedback to management in an informed and meaningful way. They need adequate and good quality information in order to do this.
Boards today are a very serious business
and members’ responsibility under the new companies act, the recommendation of King III and the financial services board, make it onerous. But on the other hand, I find it extraordinarily stimulating to be working with these young, energetic minds filled with such enthusiasm and excitement.”The future lies in their hands and one hope that experience and experiences will assist them to build better companies.”
20 Management Today | April 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103