What a difference a year makes. In the past, boardroom discussions about ‘duty of care’ would have focused on general staff welfare, ensuring a safe and secure working environment and specific policies around anti bullying and whistleblowing. The conversation has focused rightly on the responsibilities on the board as employers. And the last year has …
In this uncertain time, we all crave certainty. And when you lead an organisation, you can often feel obliged to provide that certainty. Both as a protection to staff but also to reassure them that someone is in control, and there is a plan. So how should leaders, connect and communicate with staff during these times? Speaking to a …
Leadership lessons in praise of clear communication in times of crisis Read More »
What do our societies want from social care workers? And more importantly what do these workers expect from the societies they serve? Now that the clapping has stopped, and those who were lauded as heroes drift out of our collective consciousness, perhaps it is about we started asking. It is timely then, that the Scottish …
In these uncertain times, how do you know your if your charity board is performing and effective? One way is an evaluation process including board self-assessment. It would be hard to find a board that does not have a process to evaluate CEO effectiveness. Yet a lot charity boards do not evaluate their own effectiveness, or if …
Leadership lessons – in praise of board assessment Read More »
Is certainty an overrated leadership attribute? For me, yes. And by certainty, I mean that which dismisses alternative views, and advice as a sign of weakness. Uncertainty becomes a synonym for indecisiveness. This emphasis on certainty can often result in a false view implying that it only requires ‘will’ to be decisive and to solve …
Struggling to maintain board governance and decision making during Covid 19? Thanks to Zoom and other platforms, organisational board governance can continue unhindered by the current crisis. Yet the tech in and of itself does not solve a bigger challenge, namely, to ensure your board meeting is effective and productive. And in doing so, creates …
It is has become a cliché to say the Covid-19 is rewriting the rules and changing our actions in many areas of business and work. Yet pandemic or not, it hasn’t changed the need for good governance and leadership around the board table. Indeed because of the extent of the crisis, the need for good …
Governing Despite Covid – How your Board can Respond Read More »
So how do you know if your board is doing well? In my role as a trusted adviser working with boards, this is often the first question I ask. And I am struck, how often boards and members can struggle to answer the question. Most attempt to answer by referencing the effectiveness, or growth of …
I have yet to meet a CEO who at some point in time hasn’t been frustrated by their board – it goes with the territory. That said, it should be an exception and not become the norm. As a CEO it is best you regard as your board as a valuable ally. And to ensure that …
I believe that the ability to listen is one of the most important attributes of a leader. However, what is also clear, that it is both under used and under practised by many civic and business leaders. In the age of the new ‘strong man’ leader, it is as if listening is seen as a …