Building an effective board dynamic takes hard work and commitment by the whole board.
High performing boards leverage the strength of cognitive diversity amongst their directors. They create an environment where directors stay curious, seek to understand different perspectives and thinking preferences and engage with competing tensions.
Boards who do this well can more effectively draw on the skills, experience and diversity amongst directors. Not only does this create a more respectful discussion around the boardroom, it allows the board to resolve competing tensions and synthesise inputs to generate a bigger shared perspective. When this is done well, boards are engaging in a “generative dialogue” to make decisions together rather than approaching decision-making as a win/lose debate.[1]
Figure from Cavanagh, M.(2013) [1]
However, one of the biggest challenges for boards is finding the right balance between collaborating towards a common purpose and maintaining a dynamic which empowers directors to stay curious, draw on different perspectives and constructively challenge each other.
Boards that aren’t as effective at maintaining a constructive dynamic can become dysfunctional where factions are developed or where it is not safe to challenge each other. Alternatively, they can work so collaboratively that they create an environment of “groupthink” and are less effective in leveraging the strength of different perspectives.
We have worked with boards to leverage the strengths of the cognitive diversity around the table by understanding the “thinking preferences” of directors. This includes each director undertaking an HBDI® (Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument) assessment to help them understand their individual “thinking preference” and facilitation of a board dynamics workshop to understand the group’s thinking preferences and the impact on board dynamics.
In addition, there are practices and processes that the board can implement consistently to assist their board dynamics:
- Principles of operation: Agreed mutual expectations in relation to how the board interacts with each other and makes decisions.
- End-of-meeting review: Hold the board accountable to the principles of operation with an end-of-meeting review with structured questions about the board’s dynamics.
- Board and director performance evaluations: On an annual basis, undertake a board and director performance evaluation in a format that encourages direct, constructive feedback for continual improvement.
Board dynamics is a key area that Directors Australia focuses on in our board performance evaluations which are underpinned by our Governing for Performance ® framework. We also work with boards to improve their board dynamics through board workshops which can include a director and board HBDI® assessment and support with developing board principles of operation.
For more information, please contact us here or call 1300 890 267.
**Nothing in this article should be construed in any way whatsoever as legal advice. It is the reader’s responsibility to obtain expert legal advice on any issue which requires a professional legal opinion.
[1] Cavanagh, M. “The Coaching Engagement in the Twenty-first Century: New paradigms for complex times” in David, S.A, Clutterbuck, D & Megginson, D “Beyond Goals: Effective strategies for coaching and mentoring” 2013.
Geraldine Chin Moody
Board and Governance Principal
