The role of behaviours in board effectiveness Ashley Harshak

Session overview Rules for session Chatham House rule Explain research Discuss board dynamics Get you to do some work! Share how you might get involved Chatham House rule Anonymity of discussions Consent to use what you share Record your discussions (delete after transcribing)

What is action research? [A]ction research is a participatory process concerned with developing practical knowledge in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes. The SAGE Handbook of Action Research (ed.s) Reason & Bradbury, 2008

What is the focus of the study? Role of behaviours in board effectiveness Directors feel affinity to each other and are motivated to be involved in the Board Standards that encourage openness and acceptance of disagreement Cohesiveness Debate Directors openly discuss and debate their perspectives and approaches to decision-making Conflict Resolution Source: Corporate Governance & Board Effectiveness, A. Levrau & L.Van den Berghe

What behaviours? Those that encourage relationships, decision making and learning I connect I enquire I share I decide I enhance

How discussion groups will work? You choose 1 out of the 4 discussion topics - but there can’t be more than 7 people in the group What makes for successful board discussions? What do boards do to develop productive relationships between directors and with executive? What do boards do to be supportive, challenging and manage ‘conflict’? What behaviours do you see demonstrated that either help or hinder your board’s discussions? You have 25-30 minutes

1. What makes for successful board discussions? 10 x A4 printouts 1. What makes for successful board discussions? Everyone write a story about a board or team discussion you observed that went really well. Think what made for a successful discussion Spend 5 minutes capturing a story Everyone in turn share their story Discuss what is common across your stories Discuss and capture what differs

10 x A5 cards Write a story about a board or team discussion that went well. What made for a successful discussion? Story: What made this a successful discussion? Name: E-mail:

2. What do boards do to develop productive relationships? 1 x A1 worksheet 2. What do boards do to develop productive relationships? Relationships Between Board Members Relationships Between Board & Executive Opportunities to get to know each other Opportunities to interact outside the board Other

Ideas for what boards could do 1 x A1 worksheet 3. What do boards do to be supportive, challenging and manage ‘conflict’? What boards do Ideas for what boards could do Be supportive Work together as a team Be challenging Raise difficult questions and avoid group think Manage conflict Deal with tensions between people

10 x A4 printouts 4. What behaviours do you see demonstrated that either help or hinder your board’s discussions? Everyone take 4 post it notes On 2 separate post it notes capture 2 behaviours you have seen help your board On 2 separate post it notes capture 2 behaviours you have seen hinder your board Put your post it notes on the worksheet in the right column Discuss and group the behaviours you see that seem to help boards Discuss and group the behaviours you see that seem to hinder boards What are your observations?

4. What behaviours help or hinder board’s discussions? 1 x A0 worksheet 4. What behaviours help or hinder board’s discussions? Behaviours that help Behaviours that hinder 2 packs of rectangular post its

What’s next? Capture and frame the outputs of discussions today Set up and run board chair action inquiry group next year . . . . . . Maybe followed by a Society Secretaries group Capture learnings over 6-8 months Share and discuss results with Governance Panel . . . Share learnings at a future Practitioners Forum