Jeito
Board’s Teamwork
The need for Boards to review their performance has never been more important than in the current economic climate. Board reviews provide an opportunity to raise and deal with issues and concerns that might not otherwise surface (key benefit of FTSE 350 Board reviews surveyed in 2007) and to identify whether the board under review is a robust and effective social system ….
Jeito has been a pioneer in Web based, Board Reviews since 2004, across Australia and the UK.
Our clients come from a range of for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, and they tell us that our reviews are both cost effective and provide practical feedback that is more than a box ticking exercise.
“ We have set up a small committee to work on changing our governance and constitution right now, all from your last year’s survey results which will make us even stronger and ahead of the game.”
“As a CEO I feel the relationship with my board and particularly the chair is crucial to how we perform as an organisation. Your online questionnaire provided a welcome focus on our governance practices and the feedback to our board was really useful with practical actions.”
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Ultimately a Board’s role is to ensure the effective performance of the organisation it directs. So how can Board measure its success in achieving its objectives? We are not saying that there are only three measurements of success, but we do believe there are three critical measurements of a Board’s success: an effective Chair/CEO relationship; ethical leadership by the Board, Chair and CEO; fostering a climate of innovation that nurtures and grows ideas. (Article by Martin Gray in Caritas UK magazine 2009)
Actually, this is not a new area of study for some…. “So if following good-governance regulatory recipes doesn’t produce good boards, what does? The key isn’t structural, it’s social. The most involved, diligent, value-adding boards may or may not follow every recommendation in the good-governance handbook. What distinguishes exemplary boards is that they are robust, effective social systems.” (Harvard Business Review, September 2002 ‘What makes Great Boards Great’ by Professor Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld).
Indeed, a UK survey of FTSE boards found the most commonly cited benefit of Board reviews was that they: ‘provided an opportunity to raise and deal with issues and concerns that might not otherwise surface’ and allowing them to ‘stand back from day-to-day issues and to work out how to improve their performance.’ (Evaluating the performance of UK Boards. Lessons from the FTSE 350 APPCGG Oct 2007).
With this in mind then, our Board reviews do cover the compliance issues required by the regulators but also create the opportunity for directors to ‘surface’ sensitive performance issues and to air unspoken concerns in the secure and non-recriminatory environment (anonymity and confidentiality guaranteed) that the Web provides. Surfacing the Issues Much of an iceberg’s mass is beneath the surface, unseen by the naked eye. Metaphorically, the same is true of the Board room, much goes on beneath the surface.
“Your tool is most effective in drilling down to the real issues, and which has challenged us all to make the necessary changes to our skill base.”
“Your rigorous approach and specific questioning for answers, forced all of us to really consider how well we effectively or not effectively, operate as board members in a large range of required duties. This is a necessary approach for any board that aspires to operate at best practice level.”
“Your reviews provided a powerful and cost-effective way to review our board’s performance. We were able to identify and implement improvements within a matter of months.”
“As a CEO I feel the relationship with my board and particularly the chair is crucial to how we perform as an organisation. Your online questionnaire provided a welcome focus on our governance practices and the feedback to our board was really useful with practical actions.”
“Assessing against credible standards provided a very helpful benchmark and context. We can now move forward with implementing our plans for development, confident that we have a board which is performing well.”
“It created a framework within which colleagues felt able to offer some highly relevant comments which provided the basis for some fundamental thinking. It is a highly accessible framework process.”
“We have had in the past a ton of really good advice…especially from gentlemen like yourselves. Please stick with us. We have set up a small committee to work on changing our governance and constitution right now, all from your last year’s survey results which will make us even stronger and ahead of the game.”
» How Fair is the Council decision Process by Martin Gray, CEO Jeito. Printed from the Local Agenda Magazine August 2010 [Display]
» What Does Good Governance Mean for Councils by Martin Gray, CEO Jeito. Printed from the Local Agenda Magazine September 2009 [Display]
» The Case for Professionalising the Third Sector, by Stephen Bubb, CEO ACEVO, October 2007 [Display]
» At Tipping Point. The Third Sector leading from Recession to Recovery by Stephen Bubb, CEO ACEVO April 2009 [Display]
» Measuring Board Performance by Martin Gray, CEO Jeito. Printed from Caritas UK website 2009 [Display] Good Governance Compliance and Performance in the Third Sector by Nigel Kippax, Impact Consulting
»Headline events put spotlight on compliance, risk and governance, By Bill Dee Compliance and Complaints Advisory Services [Display]