02 Feb Why are we here?
“Who am I? Why am I here?” The politics aficionados amongst you might recognise these as the words of US vice-presidential candidate Admiral Stockdale during the 1992 election. They didn’t do much for his campaign.
We can all feel the same way sometimes – though generally we bluff our way through rather than own up to it. A worthwhile exception to this, however, relates to boards. Understanding the role of the board and of each member is vital. But increasingly, it’s also a good idea to make sure you’re clear about the purpose of the organisation. Not just so that you can put some boilerplate in the annual report – it can be useful too.
We are sometimes struck by how boards can have a strong sense of an organisation’s purpose but focus all of their discussions on routine matters of oversight. This feels like a missed opportunity to create some real energy in the boardroom. And for that enthusiasm to reach the business.
Done well, bringing a strong sense of organisational purpose into the boardroom can add real value to discussions, promote focus amongst the management team and inject some genuine enthusiasm into board meetings.
Here are some dos and don’ts.
Good practices to consider…
Step back and ask if there is a clearly articulated purpose that is understood in the same way by the whole board. Carve out time to have this conversation in the open, and with the management leadership team included. Include thinking around your stakeholders – it is important to know who you are doing something for, so leverage your stakeholder mapping if you have it.
Things to avoid…
Having this conversation in isolation, or trying to reverse-engineer a purpose into decisions you have already taken. The chances are that you are already having conversations in which your purpose is central but implicit, much like many conversations around risk and stakeholders. If you make the implicit explicit it will enable you to test assumptions, identify gaps and weaknesses, and find out where you’re at odds with one another.
Good practices to consider…
Having articulated your organisational purpose, develop ways to ensure that it plays a greater role in your discussions. Remind everyone in the meeting what the purpose is and give it prominence in the board papers. Link the purpose to your overall strategy, and explain how management proposals are working towards your purpose.
Things to avoid…
Being overly formulaic in how you inject purpose into the agenda and papers. If it becomes a mechanical routine it will cease to have any impact. Keeping purpose a living, stimulating presence in the boardroom requires conscious effort. One line in the executive summary is unlikely to do it. Not even if the same line is repeated in every paper.
Good practices to consider…
Work with the company secretary to manage the agendas, papers and discussions, and help you keep track of what you have seen. The chances are that you are talking about the impact of your organisation more than you think you are. The company secretary can help you take a step back.
Things to avoid…
Being too passive in the way you have these discussions. The goal should be to frame your discussions around something which is interesting and novel. Doing this will likely need a change in the way that agendas and planning are managed.
Good practices to consider…
Use your position at the top of the organisation to lead by example. The role of the board in generating and maintaining enthusiasm for what the organisation does is often underplayed. With the right messages to management, boards can have a big impact – management can feel they are actively a part of something that can make a difference.
Things to avoid…
Supposing that management can read the board’s mind. Messaging from the board which is too subtle, too abstract, or too diplomatically concealed won’t help them make the link to purpose. With management in the room, be open and explicit about the board’s view on purpose and how management activity is contributing to it.
Good practices to consider…
Make time to praise successes, and make sure this praise is cascaded down the organisation. This can reinforce both the purpose itself and also the leadership role of the board. Those who present to you can hear the messages for themselves and then take them away so that they become a part of the cultural fabric of the company.
Things to avoid…
Reflecting on successes privately after the meeting, or asking for praise to be delivered second-hand. Hearing directly from the board that they have seen and enjoyed your successes can have a genuine impact on the motivation to continue to deliver.
Good practices to consider…
Create the right spaces to hear how your purpose has been lived in the organisation. This could be as simple as taking the time at the end of each meeting to reflect on the importance of the organisation’s contribution and on the latest successes. Bring management and others into your discussions and have them tell their story about what they do. The board, having listened, can hear for themselves how the purpose is being underpinned, and the discussions will flow from there.
Things to avoid…
Hearing from those in the business infrequently, or shoehorning these reflections into too-short slots. Consider splitting the agenda into two, with the latter part focusing on the more routine matters of overseeing the business. (You could go even further by separating the routine approvals out entirely into a consent agenda.) The first half can be reserved for more purpose-driven strategic items – when energy levels are at their highest.
Good practices to consider…
Use the drafting of the annual report as an opportunity to take a high-level view of how you’re doing. If you’ve got a good story to tell, then make sure you tell it well. And if you tell it well, you’ll realise where the weak points are, so you can do something about it. Even if you don’t want to expose weak points to the world, they should be exposed to the board.
Things to avoid…
Not thinking critically about the reality underneath the bland boilerplate of your annual report content. If the real organisational purpose is to make lots of money by exploiting society and the environment for as long as you can get away with it, a board shouldn’t rest content with a platitudinous statement that the organisational purpose is to help individuals fulfil their human potential. Even if – heaven forbid – you think such codswallop is good PR, you shouldn’t be taken in by it yourselves.
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