New Year, New You…
Once again, we are approaching that time of year when we begin to wind down and reflect on what we want to achieve for 2015. As we head into the New Year, which may bring uncharted territory for some of us, it is important to make plans to ensure we maximise productivity.
My colleague Derek Mills, leading speaker, mentor and author of ‘10 Second Philosophy’ reminds us that we should set daily standards to compliment and help us achieve our goals. As I prepare for 2015, I encourage you to join me in making every day count on your way to success in whatever form that takes in your life, career and other areas of life.
Taking governance into account, having clear standards and goals is crucial to ensure the success of any company or organisation. So, with that in mind, in my last blog of 2014 I will share with you some areas for consideration when setting standards in governance in 2015.
I begin here with a few of my standards around boards. Feel free to use these as a prompt to set your own standards around board membership and meetings:
- Ensure I add value at every board meeting, always focusing on making a strategic difference, outcomes for beneficiaries or supporting the executive team.
- Challenge and scrutinise, whilst monitoring at board meetings but not just for the sake of challenging and scrutinising!
- Keep myself up to date with the organisational KPIs, the regulatory environment and industry specific developments.
- Engage professionally with my fellow board members and executive team in order to bring the best out in each person.
Now, some tips for 2015:
1. Consider reading a governance related book in the first quarter of 2015. I recommend:
– The Fish Rots from the Head by Bob Garrett
– Corporate Governance and Chairmanship by Adrian Cadbury
– Groupthink by Irving L. Janis (quite academic but a good read)
– Directors’ Dilemmas: Tales From the Front Line by Patrick Dunne
– Money: Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Anthony Robbins (not governance related but this is his first publication in about 20 years and it’s a great read!)
2. Consider securing a new board appointment
– Get your CV updated and ensure that it is focused on your non-exec experiences and examples of your service in this area. Visit The Sunday Times, log onto public appointments website (http://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk), The Guardian and other sites or publications where board appointments are advertised.
3. Suggest or book a board appraisal
– Appraising your board is a great way to begin your New Year and will also help you set great strategic priorities and plans for the rest of the year. This will help your organisation continue to perform and get the best out of the board.
4. Commit to personal development
– When was the last time you did any personal development? We should always be aiming to improve our knowledge and skills so that our contribution to boards and other commitments adds value. There are many courses and seminars that you take to help you improve you! Of course, I will mention here my EBM programmes specifically designed to help you improve your governance knowledge. The programmes apply to all sectors and new programmes begin in January 2015. To find out more, please visit effectiveboardmember.co.uk.
5. Resign!
Controversial but it’s important on a periodic basis to look at value you are providing to organisations in a non-executive capacity. Have you outstayed your welcome? Can you still be considered independent or do you need to make space to take on a greater challenge?
Let’s collectively commit to make 2015 a better year for governance in the organisations we lead and serve. As we say at the governance forum, governance is more than compliance. Setting standards, achieving goals, reviewing your contribution to board meetings, reading new material, appraising your board and committing to personal development are great beginnings for the New Year.
In 2015, I have a major campaign that I’ll be driving forward. I wrote about ‘Diversity in the Boardroom’ last month and in the New Year, we’ll be launching a Think Tank to ensure this campaign moves forward and boards everywhere improve their diversity. Stay tuned for more information on this and for new blogs including; ‘Preparing for the Board Meeting’ and ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective Board Members’ which will also involve a launch of the habits on Twitter. You can follow me on Twitter using the handle @KGgovernance.
Finally, I’d like to thank you for all the time you’ve taken to read my blogs this year. I hope that you find them useful.
All the best for the festive season and beyond.
Until next time…
