Leadership at the top – the Chair-Board relationship

This blog is written by Chris Cornforth, Emeritus Professor of Organisational Governance and Management and board member of the Association of Chairs. 

This is the second of three related blogs that focus on the triangle of relationships between the chief executive, chair, and the governing body or board of voluntary organisations.  How well these actors collaborate and work together is crucial to the success of the top leadership team. In the previous blog, I examined the relationship between the chair and the chief executive. In this blog, I will focus on the relationship between the chair and board[1]

Chair-Board relationship

Boards are groups that usually only meet intermittently, yet they need to make important collective decisions. The Chair has a vital leadership role in ensuring board members are able to work together effectively and with the executive team. It is important therefore that the chair makes sure that there are opportunities for board members and senior executive(s) to get to know each other, and that there are opportunities for team building. Away days or strategic retreats can be particularly good for this purpose, allowing the board to focus in more depth on important issues, but also to socialise. On a more frequent basis it can be valuable to allow time before or after board meetings for the board and executives to socialise, and to make space for more informal meetings.

Recent research in North America and the UK on the chairs of non-profit organisations suggests that it is the ‘softer’ inter-personal and leadership skills that distinguish effective from ineffective chairs^[2]. The least effective chairs were not seen as team players, perhaps pursuing their own personal agendas, and less able to deal with inadequate performance of other board members and key actors. Effective chairs were perceived as being socially aware, helping and service motivated. Those chairs who were perceived to perform well engaged in leadership behaviours that created a good environment for both their board and executives to work together by: being fair and impartial, being open to new ideas, not distracting from the organisation’s goals by imposing their own personal agenda, providing autonomy and independence for the board and chief executive.  They were also good at team building through: valuing team members, encouraging and acknowledging different contributions, and creating a safe climate were issues can be openly discussed.

One of the challenges for chairs, particularly in membership organisations where board members are elected, is that there is no guarantee that board members will have the all skills and experience to make an effective contribution on the board and be able to hold management to account. It is important therefore that the chair and chief executive ensure that there is good induction and training available to board members. However, skill gaps may still persist. Where this is the case, the chair and board should consider co-opting outside board members to fill any gaps and/or calling on outside advisers as the need arises. It also takes time for new board members to become effective. I remember interviewing one board member, who said it took me a year to become familiar with the organisation and the working of the board, another year to become an effective board member, and then after another year my term was up. As a result, it is good practice to stagger board renewal, with only a minority of the board members changing in any one year to ensure a degree on continuity and that not all the expertise built up by the board is lost. It also means that more experienced board members can mentor newly elected members until they gain experience and confidence, and hopefully help them become effective more quickly.

Much of the work of boards takes place in meetings. As a result, it is vital that chairs are skilled at running meetings. All too often board meetings are less effective than they might be because they are poorly chaired. Common problems include: papers arrive late and board members are not adequately prepared, management spend too long making presentation leaving little time for discussion, meetings run on too long without a break, too much time is spent on less important issues and not enough time on important items, a few people dominate the meeting and others find it difficult to get their views heard. Effective chairs will ensure that meetings have appropriate agendas and the necessary information to make informed decisions; that enough time is spent on discussing key issues; that everyone is able to participate; keep to time and that there are opportunities such as away days to discuss longer-term strategic issues.

As well as the basic mechanics of running a board meeting, the chair has a vital role in creating a good working relationship between board and the executive. An important part of the board’s role is to oversee the work of the executive, setting goals and targets, expecting high standards and holding the executive to account. Board have to find the right balance between challenging and supporting the executive. If the board is too challenging or critical the relationship with the executive may deteriorate, on the other had if the board are too supportive of management or too passive then the board will not add value to decisions or be unable to hold management to account.

The chair can play an important role in helping to make the work of the board productive and rewarding by expecting high standards of performance and behaviour from board members. Many organisations are now setting out clear role descriptions and codes of practice for their boards, so it is much clearer to board members what is expected of them when they join the board. This is also a good opportunity to set out the organisation’s mission and the principles that it expects all board members to further.

Research suggests that chairs tend to rate their own performance more highly than chief executives and board members rate the chair’s performance. While this is common across sectors^[3] too large a gap could indicate potential problems, with chairs thinking they are performing well while other key actors have a lower opinion of their performance. It is important therefore that chairs receive feedback on their performance. Formally this can be done through annual 360-degree board appraisal processes, where board members and senior staff are given the opportunity to feedback on the chair’s performance. Informally effective chairs may seek more regular feedback, for example checking at the end of board meetings how well those present think the meeting has gone and whether any issues could have been handled better.

For those who would like more information on the crucial role of the chair the Association of Chairs has produced and excellent booklet ‘A Chair’s Compass’, which can be downloaded from their website.

25th April 2018