Getting to Know the Governor

We began the year by ‘Preparing for the Board Meeting’ where I encouraged you to, when attending a board meeting, be aware of and rehearse the key indicators, key corporate objectives and the key risks of the organisation, review the minutes and ensure you have a database of questions to use at board meetings so that you can add value to meetings. You can never be too prepared!

 

In spring, we took account of the critical aspects of governance in 2015 in a three part series that examined: 1. Dealing with your Regulator (developing a good relationship with your regulator), 2. Board Composition and Succession (avoiding groupthink and ensuring your board is competent, paying attention to succession and diversity), 3. Identifying and Getting Assurance (focus on scrutiny and challenge to ensure you are getting right level of assurance) and 4. Keeping up with Technology and Social Media (being aware of cyber risks). Moving forward, I encouraged you to become familiar with codes of governance, using them as guidelines and the principles on which your governance work stands.

 

Being largely focused on the importance of board behaviour in corporate governance, the next blog encouraged you to develop a code of conduct not only for your board but also individually as a board member. In this blog, we revisited the 6Cs of an Effective Board Member and my Four Board Dysfunctions. More about both of these concepts can be found in my literature which is available at: www.karlgeorge.com.

 

Furthering our focus on board membership, the next blog ‘ The 7 Traits of Highly Effective Board Members’ focused on contribution, insight, independence, being risk aware and being custodians of the legacy when representing an organisation as part of their board. Board members should always be ambassadorial in their role.

 

Approaching the last quarter of 2015, we looked at the ‘Standard Assessment Process’ (know what success looks like and have cohesive deadlines) and I reminded you that ‘A Skills Audit is Not a Governance Review!’ (put in the pre-inspection work as well as the road test). The final blogs paid tribute to one of the founding fathers of modern corporate governance, Sir Adrian Cadbury who was recently laid to rest; his contribution to governance however, is set to positively influence generations of governance practitioners.

 

So, it’s been a full year of looking at some of the main principles of governance and I encourage you to review some of the information I have shared in my blogs this year to support you in your role as a governance practitioner. I also welcome questions on any of the topics raised in my blogs via Twitter, using the handle @KGgovernance and #AskKarl.

 

Now, to those questions and my thoughts about my own role as a governance practitioner and the upcoming trends in governance. The questions I answer in the video are listed below. Click the link to view: https://youtu.be/I0uPiUfizd8

 

1. Tell us what The Governor actually does on a day-to-day basis?

2. What is it that makes you ‘tingly’ about governance?

3. What are your favourite products/services that TGF offer and why?

4. Which governance event in 2015 has been the most concerning and why?

5. What is the one thing that every person should know about governance?

6. What boards do you sit on at the moment?

7. What is the best way to get involved in sitting on a board?

8. What are the best books/articles to read about governance?

9. How will governance or the lack of it affect us in the future?

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to read and share my blogs and wish you all the best for 2016 as we continue to #GetTinglyAboutGovernance!

 

Until next time…