Unhivemind: The questions high-performing boards are asking
What does it take for boards to excel as a collective?
No surprise. We at FDI talk to boards. A lot of boards.
We’ve consulted with boards in fields as varied as social justice and mental health charities, to Aboriginal Controlled Corporations, peak bodies, law firms, universities and international private companies. Just as varied are their geographies – Australia, New Zealand, elsewhere across the Asia Pacific, the Middle East. Even Mongolia.
Over the past year, we’ve helped them assess and implement modern strategic governance approaches, and trained them up on everything from future-fit codes of conduct to more holistic stakeholder maps – all to get their governance teams functioning at a higher level.
Naturally, stuff crops up. Themes emerge. A hivemind forms.
We want to share the biggest things we’ve found that boards are thinking about right now, so that your board might be the one who starts rethinking what we’re all facing. If you can solve these things, you’ll be a neck ahead of the rest.
1 The Covid reset
Boards are returning to more sustainable meeting schedules, down from the frenetic cadence in peak Covid. They’re catching up on work that was put aside due to the lockdowns, border closures, supply chain issues and natural disasters. That flows into…
2 An appetite for action
During Covid, boards were forced into a reactive posturing. That’s now being shed as boards proactively grapple with some shared challenges. Namely, formalising the widened awareness of their stakeholders that Covid gave them, through better stakeholder engagement and management. The need for collective education of boards, not just individual directors. And actively upending the status quo beset into boards over the past 3 years.
3 Zoom sucks
Peak Covid may be over(ish), but virtual meetings remain a common gripe for board directors. Our advice? Different agendas require different modes of meeting. Free flowing, open discussion or creative work is best done face-to-face. Process-driven or efficiency-driven decision work is best done virtually. But remember, time for rapport isn’t just ‘nice’ when remote. It’s necessary.
Unlocking higher performance for your board
The board world is switching from a dormant to active state. Here are some questions to kickstart your boards’ thinking, to supervolcano your group’s performance.
For one, Covid variants continue to morph - so ask your board, what investment is needed for your organisation to sustain operations with ongoing disruption to workforce availability?
Secondly, approaches to diversity and inclusion are maturing. Tokenistic tinkering is giving way to brave conversations with every identity and interest. Ask - who decides your board’s scorecard on diversity and inclusion - the board members or your stakeholders?
Third. Burnout burns hot. Porous work/life boundaries, longer hours and fewer staff will ensure that. The question becomes - beyond your Employee Assistance Program and awareness morning teas, how are you governing to prevent burnout in your workforce (including your CEO)?
Lastly, business databases will continue to be targets for hackers. The onus is on the board to get tech-savvy. Start by asking how your organisation relies on technology to conduct your business, and what would a critical failure mean for your ability to work?
As always, we’re happy to help you answer those questions, either individually, or in consult with your board and exec team. See more about our consulting work here.
Future Directors Founder, Paul Smith, has been speaking on this topic for several years and you can now learn more in our Short Course Leading Your Board to High Performance is coming up soon (Wed 3rd May, 2023).