By Julie Garland McLellan on December 15, 2010
Many directors of Government owned enterprises take up the role because they want to have an effect on the organisation and, through the organisation, on the society they live in and will bequeath to their children. Even directors who do not profess a burning sense of mission will admit to a deep sense of responsibility for organisational and societal outcomes. Only directors who can apply their passion in a board-appropriate manner will successfully manage to influence events and corporations. Few directors receive any training in how to do this.
By Carter McNamara on December 10, 2010
As demands for Board effectiveness and accountability continue to grow, research and discussions about how Boards might operate differently, continue to grow, as well. There are a variety of new ideas for Board models. Networked Governance David Renz suggests that the effectiveness of governance could be enhanced when we realize that governance can include organizations […]
By Julie Garland McLellan on November 5, 2010
This post examines some of the differences in thinking between managers and directors. It explains how to assist when a novice director needs help in making the required changes to their thinking.
By Julie Garland McLellan on August 13, 2010
It has often been said that there is no place in the boardroom for a director who does not understand the business. Now we need to consider if there is room for one who does not understand internet enabled connectivity. Directors need to understand both the risks and the opportunities presented by the internet in […]
By Julie Garland McLellan on July 6, 2010
There are many attempts to define ethical standards for company directors. It would be foolish to argue that there should not be an ethical standard or even that an ethical standard is as important as a competency standard. The problem is with identifying a suitable standard before making a board appointment. Whilst many boards have […]
By Carter McNamara on June 5, 2010
When Boards have recurring problems, such as poor attendance, low participation, high turnover of members or increasing conflicts, here’s a quick process that I’ve used successfully to “jump start” recovery. Sure, the steps aren’t all of those needed for complete Board development — those steps would produce a blog post about 25 pages long. But […]
By Carter McNamara on June 1, 2010
The Corporate Secretaries International Association recently released a report, “Twenty Practical Steps to Better Corporate Governance.” It struck me that almost all of the steps applied to nonprofit Boards as well. (The Report refers to “corporate” governance, the phrase commonly used for for-profit Boards, which is a misnomer I believe because Boards are required for […]
By Carter McNamara on May 10, 2010
When you ask Board members if they’ve been trained, it’s not uncommon that they’ll answer, “Yes”. But many times, they’ll be wrong. Board Orientation Board orientation is about the unique aspects of the organization. It might include introductions and team building among Board members, overviews of the organization’s products and services, celebration of the organization’s […]
By Carter McNamara on April 13, 2010
Too often, when Board members struggle with attendance, participation or decision making, they simplistically resort to a Board training session or undertake team building to address their problems. Those techniques seldom work to address those problems. Why Board Training Alone Seldom Restores Boards It is not uncommon that Board members want a “quick fix” to […]