Optimizing Your Board Effectiveness:
New Workshops for CEOs and Top Executives

Workshop One: The Board/Management Relationship

Understanding the type of board you’re working with (from among four different board archetypes) helps determine how to work most effectively with that board – and what to watch out for. This session lays the foundation for analyzing any board/management relationship – and discusses initial steps in migrating the relationship to a more effective model. It also addresses common problems including: (i) Why boards micro-manage and what to do about it; (ii) Whether your board is a nuisance or an asset – how long-standing board/management patterns may need to be uprooted to get more value from your board; (iii) differences between “watchdog” vs “sounding board” directors – why your board needs both; and (iv) the amount of time a CEO should expect to spend on board-related issues.

Workshop Two: Building a Constructive Relationship with Your Chair and Individual Directors

Board leadership differs markedly from corporate leadership. Forming a solid working relationship with your Chair begins with an understanding these differences and determining whether your Chair is operating primarily in “champion” or “preservationist” mode. We’ll discuss four critical facets of the Chair role and outline three areas where a Chair can be particularly useful to a CEO in thwarting board-related problems. Forming a good working relationship with the Chair – while essential – isn’t enough: A CEO needs to build and maintain a relationship with every member of the board. One-on-one discussions with each director can lay the foundation for these individual relationships – but most CEOs either overlook or squander this opportunity. With greater focus and structure, these initial conversations can be invaluable.

Workshop Three: Building a Board-Worthy Executive Team

The impression an executive makes in the boardroom not only has implications for his/her professional career, it can enhance or detract from the board’s confidence in the management team. Most directors believe their board materials can be improved, often significantly – and many think management presentations can be better, as well. CEOs who make an effort to enhance their executives’ confidence and capabilities in working with the board nearly always receive kudos from their directors. It also leads to better board dialogue and decision-making. This session discusses the essentials of board-friendly materials, key rules for effective board presentations and redesign of the director orientation program, highlighting mistakes executives typically make in all of these areas.

Workshop Four: Taking Your Board from Good to Great

Most CEOs believe their boards can be improved – and they’re nearly always right. The biggest challenge they face is how make these changes without alienating their board in the process. The secret is often “leading from behind” –which requires a solid understanding the eight key components of board-building. This session will also cover board-building tools every CEO should know about: (i) How to redesign your board evaluation from a toothless box-ticking exercise to the sharpest tool available to take any board from “good to great”; (ii) When to deploy Board 2.0, a board succession planning tool that engages every board member and senior executive in designing the optimal board composition; (iii) Whether to undertake a board composition benchmarking exercise.

Workshop Five: Dealing with Under-Performing Directors

Director performance management is one of the biggest shortcomings in corporate governance today. Many boards turn a blind eye to these problems, largely because they’re awkward to address. But allowing director performance problems to go unchecked can significantly compromise both credibility of the board and that of the CEO. Age and term limits, which most boards use to stimulate board turnover, seldom address director performance problems. This session will explore four director performance management tools that every CEO should know about. By the end of the session you’ll understand which tool to deploy – and how – to address any director performance issues your board may be confronting – and to help prevent performance issues from arising in the first place.

Pricing and Format:

Individual 90-minute workshops start at $1500 US; $3500 US for an executive team workshop. Choose the Workshop Topic of greatest interest – and we’ll tailor the session to best meet your objectives. All Workshops include:

  • A 15-minute pre-workshop Zoom/call to clarify your objectives; this ensures that the 90-minute session is focused accordingly;
  • Confidentiality Agreement signed by Board Advisor prior to each session to ensure that discussion during the workshop can be open and candid;
  • The relevant eChapter of the new book, New CEOs and Boards: How to Build a Great Board Relationship – and a Great Board (pre-publication manuscript; the book is scheduled for release in Q3, 2021) that corresponds to the selected Workshop Topic, for ongoing reference

For More Information

To find out more or book a Workshop, just email: Beverly.behan@boardadvisor.net.