Culture Board Effectiveness

Culture and Effectiveness of the Board

Key points

What role does culture play in the effectiveness - or ineffectiveness - of a board? Whether the goal is to sustain the organization effectiveness or implement transformational change, the company culture must be aligned with the strategy, the organizational structure and operational practices. Otherwise, effectiveness is likely to suffer, and strategic goals will be unmet.

It is exceedingly anticipated that whenever a group of individuals with different cultural backgrounds, talents, skills and personalities assemble together, challenges in board function and effectiveness are likely to occur. However, the decision to commit your time to board effectiveness is one that requires realistic consideration.

88). A well-integrated, high-performing team-those that "connect together"-share common goals and sense of purpose for which hold themselves mutually accountable. They never lose sight of their goals and are largely self-sustaining. In fact, work done in teams provides many advantages and benefits. The foremost advantages are the diversity of knowledge and ideas contributed by team members, and the camaraderie among members. A characteristic commonly comprehended in high-performance teams is cohesiveness, a measure of the attraction of the group to its members (and the resistance to exit leaving

These two cultures should not be stagnant or ignored but embraced and fostered. Board culture provides the foundation for how governance responsibilities are carried out, and it's the board chair's role to ensure its well-being. The page five of "The practitioner's guide to governance as leadership" offers three overarching "genetic markers" of a governance-as-leadership-friendly culture. According to Trower, the board plays a central role in discernment and sense-making; the board and management collaborate effectively; and diligence through productive engagement (Trower, p. 132). The effective discernment means making and problem framing before problem solving (Trower, p. 132). Effective collaboration within the boardroom and the development of close working relationships between the CEO and the chairman increase the board's effectiveness and create synergy. In other words, a control approach protects a corporation from self-serving behavior and reduces goal conflict, however, a collaborative approach encourages cooperation and fosters trust and goal alignment. Diligence through engagement is evidenced by collegiality which from a board and an organizational perspective, refers to decision-making processes that rely on consensus building among members with diverse but equal position (Trower, p.