There is an emerging mandate to re-envision the boardroom. Accelerating momentum and pressure is mounting to diversify board rooms well beyond gender & race, increase ESG focus and address the myriad of demands from activist shareholders. The current model and governance norms of engagement & practices were conceived in a different era.
The inclusive & representative boardroom necessitates a new mindset and ways of working. Dialogue, listening, collaboration, and unmatched teaming are required for new priorities and voices to add value. Established ways of working dictated by Parliamentary Procedures/ Robert’s Rules of Order must be evaluated. Their intent is to keep order and expedite decision-making. The Rules & Procedures minimize dialogue which runs counter to the requirement for inclusion, innovation, and collaboration. New voices added to status quo practices undermine the benefit gained from diverse knowledge on decision making and ultimately on exponential results.
Gone must be the days of decisions being made in committees and by a select few before the meeting, commonly experienced as vote lobbying. The role & effectiveness of committees must be scrutinized. Organization & leadership theory has long revealed the counterproductive nature of silos which produce fragmented thinking & decision-making-“no involvement, no commitment- involvement creates commitment!”
The idea of voting as the means to make decisions also begs the question of effectiveness. Decisions are most effectively implemented when made by consensus- broadly defined as each person feels, I have been heard and I have heard everyone, and the decision was collectively created, and thus, I support it.
The board is a team that must intentionally focus on developing itself for high performance breaking the norm of jump in and get to work. New ways of thinking and working must become the norm for the boardroom to benefit from the power and perspectives of all the voices. Learning how to listen, seek out information, clarify, and create together is required... these new skills must be mastered.
So, while we excitedly invite new voices to the table, we must with an equal and determined focus create a new & inclusive board team, culture, norms & practices. Every aspect of governance must be examined- composition/size, succession planning, nomination, sourcing, selection, onboarding, term limits, roles & responsibilities, evaluation, development, and engagement.
The real opportunity for exponential results lies in boards taking leadership of the boardroom and increasing their collective EQ by expanding the focus inward on their readiness & culture creation. Candidate readiness and pipeline priming should be a secondary focus. Preparing the boardroom is an essential first step to ensure change is board-led for sustainability.
Only when there is a new boardroom culture will representation, ESG, AI, cybersecurity, privacy, 4IR, and the many vital initiatives yield a significant ROI.
I am excited about the potential to transform the boardroom as the gateway for triple-bottom-line impact!