Across hundreds of governance reviews, one pattern shows up again and again: the quality of the Chair-CEO relationship is a leading indicator of board effectiveness.
It happens: a director “hears things” about the Chief Executive. Danger zone. This piece sets out a practical path—verify before acting, keep the whole board
Roger Martin keeps strategy practical: define the real problem, explore ‘possibility portraits’, choose what rivals can’t or won’t copy, then enforce—and adjust as conditions change.
Plenty of organisations invest in developing people—until they reach the boardroom. The data shows many boards still avoid meaningful evaluation, often because it feels uncomfortable.
We often compare the board chair to an orchestral conductor—visible, decisive, keeping perfect time. But what if a choreographer is the better metaphor for modern
A great board starts with the right people around the table, able to work as an effective team.
By far the most important governance questions are the strategy ones: Are we deploying resources to maximum effect? And how do we know? John Carver
It is increasingly common to hear people extolling the benefits of conflict in the boardroom; that conflict is not all negative. That it is no
The chief executive (CE) report to the board is a crucial tool that can significantly affect the dynamics of board meetings. It’s a unique opportunity…
We are often asked how frequently a board should meet. Our typical answer is, ‘It depends!’
As a new annual cycle of board meetings begins, how many board members can say with confidence that the conduct of their meetings has noticeably
First published in Board Works #6, 2010
This title chosen by Matt Fullbrook for a recent podcast (‘Why good governance is woke and that’s good news for everyone’) was, he said, deliberately
Released in 2021, the ISO standard largely passed us by—perhaps because of the hefty price tag to purchase it. The standard was developed by ‘experts
Aotearoa New Zealand has around 28,000 charities and another 24,000 incorporated societies. Many fit into the small or very small category consistent with this book’s
Sports fans will be well aware that the outcome of a sporting match-up is often determined in the opening phases.
Of the examples of governance dysfunctionality we have encountered over the years, a great many could be attributed to a federal governance structure. Too often
The issue of ‘board-only’ sessions has been a recent topic of discussion for us. They are increasingly common and widely accepted as ‘best practice’ internationally.
BoardWorks is pleased to have assisted with this major governance review of the New Zealand Rugby Union.
Without an effective chair, all bets on the adequacy of board performance are off. This has been our consistent observation of the hundreds of boards
The idea that boards have to operate in a VUCA world (short for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) has been around for so long that
This article is drawn from—and is further reflection on—a 2018 major study of value delivery in the non-profit sector in Aotearoa New Zealand: True to
Part One in a series on mental models, thinking and decision making
