Recipe for success in the boardroom

Has there ever been a more challenging time to have a seat in the boardroom? Market disruption is more frequent and increasingly impactful, and business strategy needs to be more agile and evolve more quickly in order to seize transformation opportunities. Meanwhile, the pressure from stakeholders and governing bodies to deliver long term value is relentless. To provide the best leadership and insight possible, boards need to understand the risks that the business faces operationally, strategically, and financially. This risk matrix evolves constantly: digital, sustainability, global supply chains are good examples of pressing issues over the past two years. That can be a lot of skills to find in one room.

To be effective and reflect the organisations and societies they serve, boards must, by design, seriously consider their current and future composition and competencies. It is not just an ethical imperative; it translates directly to commercial success. An effective board of directors is a board that has diversity within its members and diversity with its competencies. Without clear-sighted evaluation of competency, it can be almost impossible to guarantee having the optimal tone, style and leadership to create the right board dynamics.

Having identified the gaps, boards are then faced with the challenge to either find tomorrow’s competencies in today’s C-Suite or use board recruitment to bring in talented individuals that can future-proof their longer-term goals from elsewhere. Both options require an unbiased, formal methodology in order to prevent falling into the dreaded trap of ‘groupthink’. Looking beyond the usual networks and avoiding recruiting ‘in one’s own image’ gives a board the best possible chance for success.

For anyone moving into the boardroom, whether it be from the executive team or from an outside network, they would do well to identify the specific skills they might need. This includes the softer skills that complement sector, industry, or other more specific expertise, which have equal bearing when it comes to being an effective board member. They will have to consider how to find their voice and become influential and most importantly, know when to talk and when to listen.

“All in all, clear headed methodical analysis of both individual board members and whole boards will optimise effectiveness and fresh thinking when it comes to sourcing new or missing expertise is the only recipe for success.”

Alumni Board Services

Our global board practice helps some of the world’s most forward-thinking companies attract, assess, and develop their board. We work in partnership with our clients to ensure their boardrooms have the right skills and experience to allow for strong corporate governance, rich and varied perspectives and strategic thinking that is both robust and innovative. We achieve this through formal evaluation of both individual members, prospective members and the board as a whole to get a rounded view of board dynamics.

During board recruitment, we work hard to remove the bias in appointing new board members and strive to challenge our clients to find those candidates that complement the experience and competencies of the existing board. Through our local, longstanding relationships in relevant networks we are able to seek out potential directors who have the richness of perspective to provide the diversity of thought necessary to support successful strategic thinking.

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We can also support individuals find their first non-executive role, be more confident as an existing board member or simply boost their ability to contribute to the commercial success of their company through our learning programmes.

If you would like our help to make your boardroom the best it can be, please do get in touch.