Introduction
The chairman is pivotal in creating the conditions for overall board and individual director effectiveness, both inside and outside the boardroom. In this most fundamental sense, the primary role of the chairman is to manage the board so that it performs its role to the highest possible standards.
A chairman should bring experience and wisdom, and even strength of personality to the role. The role also calls for strength of character and a deep commitment to leadership on behalf of others. To succeed, however, he or she must ultimately act as a servant to the board. The chairman’s role is to help to the board to achieve its goals, not to use the board to bolster their own ego or to serve their own ends.
The chairman sets the tone in the board and his/her moral integrity establishes the foundation for board effectiveness. Further, much of what goes on in the boardroom depends on the Chairman/CEO relationship. It is these magic ingredients that make a board effective or not.
Some recent quotes from Chairman:
The Chairman creates a safe haven and atmosphere, where we can sit and re-examine each issue.
If, on balance, discussion around the table flows freely without dominance from any one person and all agenda items get sufficient air time, you are in an effective boardroom. It is my role to create that environment. In a way, my role is to stabilise when things get out of kilter and to create a sense of synergy from multiple voices. A lot of my energy and time is spent on creating right processes and the maintenance of effective relationships.
The ideal Chairman devotes whatever time is required to the board.
A perfect Chairman is someone who, most of the time, creates board cohesion and achieves consensus on issues under consideration that is moderated by ethical considerations in terms of means and ends.
The Chairman is the one responsible for nurturing a positive climate of exploration and dialogue in a manner that the CEO and board members find acceptable.
A chairman should bring experience and wisdom, and even strength of personality to the role. The role also calls for strength of character and a deep commitment to leadership on behalf of others. To succeed, however, he or she must ultimately act as a servant to the board. The chairman’s role is to help to the board to achieve its goals, not to use the board to bolster their own ego or to serve their own ends.
The chairman sets the tone in the board and his/her moral integrity establishes the foundation for board effectiveness. Further, much of what goes on in the boardroom depends on the Chairman/CEO relationship. It is these magic ingredients that make a board effective or not.
Some recent quotes from Chairman:
The Chairman creates a safe haven and atmosphere, where we can sit and re-examine each issue.
If, on balance, discussion around the table flows freely without dominance from any one person and all agenda items get sufficient air time, you are in an effective boardroom. It is my role to create that environment. In a way, my role is to stabilise when things get out of kilter and to create a sense of synergy from multiple voices. A lot of my energy and time is spent on creating right processes and the maintenance of effective relationships.
The ideal Chairman devotes whatever time is required to the board.
A perfect Chairman is someone who, most of the time, creates board cohesion and achieves consensus on issues under consideration that is moderated by ethical considerations in terms of means and ends.
The Chairman is the one responsible for nurturing a positive climate of exploration and dialogue in a manner that the CEO and board members find acceptable.