INSIGHTS & ARTICLES
Future Directors teams up with The Governance Collective to offer courses on effective board practices
Future Directors, the pioneering holistic board tech platform, in collaboration with corporate governance expert Lisa Coletta from The Governance Collective, is thrilled to launch new online education offerings designed to increase the accessibility and innovation of board director skills development.
Something Good?
Working in a high-performance board means building trust, strong relationships, and allocating time to hard discussions and harder decisions. It’s the recipe for unlocking empathy. Increasing trust, empathy, and connection can be as easy as truly listening to what others have to say. Active listening, in particular, is a basic principle of strong relationships, with the bonus of an Oxytocin boost.
Unpopular Governance Opinions (You Should Lean Into)
Diving into the heart of what makes or breaks the boardroom is not just a pastime for us governance nerds—it's a mission. A few of my fellow future-focused enthusiasts and I went down this rabbit hole about the most unpopular governance opinions, which spiralled into rich insights, debates, and a few controversial takes on the state of corporate governance today.
I thought I would reflect on and summarise the common themes, particularly the most unpopular ones! Anytime a big governance conference rolls around, I also notice that some of these themes are still getting under people’s skins. If it’s not all too triggering for you, here are 10 of the big ones and why I think they’re lurking underneath the politics and dynamics of well or not-so-well-functioning boards.
Harmonising Your Board
What type of board member are you? In this HBR article there are six “types” identified by the authors: Narcissist, Data Chaser, Deferential, Status Hound, Unprepared, and Stakeholder Champion.
I don’t think the six types cover anywhere near the full range of director types, so it got me thinking about my experiences of sitting on boards, styles of leadership, and facilitating outcomes where difficult member dynamics prevail.
The Art of Subtraction & Self-Governance
The seemingly endless need to work harder, smarter, more focussed, less distracted, more complex, and (far) more nuanced in response is well,...frankly, it’s exhausting.
Self-governance has many elements, but the start is self-awareness. What are my drivers? What do I truly know about myself and my "operating system"?
Hindsight, Foresight, Insight: 2023 Year in Review
For the final One Thing of 2023, Future Directors Paul Smith and Aisling Blackmore, alongside our international governance network, reflected on the year that was and the year that’s coming.