Power and Influence in the Boardroom

Well, rest assured!

This month’s blog will explore the dynamics of power and influence in the boardroom and provide you with advice and tips to be able to navigate your way to making an impact in those crucial decision-making settings.

If you have worked hard to develop your core competences and your specialist expertise for your board and have spent time furthering your understanding of the organisation then it would only be natural to be disappointed if you then feel like you cannot be a positive influence among your fellow board members. This is illustrated with the caveat that you have diligently read your papers, remain up to date with sector developments and the wider external context and engage with the organisation as necessary – for these are some of the key components of an effective board member! If this is you, you will want to ensure that your contributions to boardroom discussions will help to make the required impact in order to promote the long-term success of the company.

Making an impact is even more important when you are representative of a minority group in the boardroom (i.e. a woman on an all male board, a tenant board member on a housing board or a young person on the board of charity where members have not been refreshed for a number of years). Being in this position gives you room to become the person who helps the organisation to make the paradigm shift required to move the organisation from being in a state of groupthink which is a dysfunctional board behaviour.

Every non-executive needs to master their contribution in the boardroom. It is the board’s collective contribution that is the key ingredient in operating as an effective board. Influence here is key.

Once definition of influence is: “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself.” As I reflect on this definition, I would like to propose the following thought. Influence in the boardroom is a responsibility that you should take on because from time to time you will want to effect the development of a proposal, the thinking or behaviour of your colleagues or introduce a new concept to the operation of the organisation.

With this in mind, I outline below six things I think you should focus on to help develop your power and influence in the boardroom.

1. Confidence

Building your knowledge and credibility in a particular area will give you confidence and allow others to be confident in you. If you can speak with knowledge and authority, others will take note and this can be developed quite easily. For example, you could spend time on the ‘shop floor’ of the organisation where you sit on the board and develop a sound understanding of one area of service delivery so that you can contribute strategically on this during meetings. Another example may be brushing up on your existing legal, financial or HR skills by applying them to those functions in the particular sector you serve in.

Edward Thorndike coined the term ‘The Halo Effect’ in the 1920s, which alludes to the cognitive bias of assuming that because an individual is good at A, they will also be good at B, C and D. When applied to confidence in the boardroom, once you have taken the time to master your area of expertise, you instil confidence in board members that what you are saying is credible and this trust will then extend to areas outside of this area.

2. Articulation

When delivering your point, you must speak clearly and concisely. Here, you must pay attention to the tone of voice used, your tone, inflection, pace and the level of charisma with which you deliver your point.

One key way to be clear is to use what I refer to as ‘sets of three’. There are several phrases included in various codes of governance and other statutory and best practice references that you can use to enhance the point you are making in the boardroom. Examples of these are:

a. formal, rigorous, transparent (when referring to processes);

b. care, skill, diligence (when referring to your role as a board member or the role of another individual in undertaking their duties), and;

c. clear, robust, reliable (when describing systems or procedures).

3. Experience
Always remember to use your experience to triangulate information from different sources, demonstrate why you have come to your conclusion and explain how all the sources fit together and relate back to the item being discussed. You are on the board because you have a unique perspective to bring to deliberations, ensure that you make that clear when you are contributing. Coupled with confidence and articulation your experience will help to solidify your point.

4. Relationship
Your influence will improve if you build rapport with your fellow board members. It is important to get to know them and let them get to know you, especially when meetings are only undertaken once a quarter. You should create allies without creating cliques and work together to understand the skills and qualities each member brings to the board so that discussion and decision-making can become stimulating and relevant. Your colleagues will tend to support your input the more you develop your relationships. This will also add value to the organisation.

5. Get Attention
To make an impact you have to be noticed, you will need to find ways to get attention. Get others to take notice of what you are saying by using facts, case studies and definitions. Also remind board members of items that they have previously agreed as they will want to be consistent with previous actions. Don’t talk too much about your views. You will be valued more if you are not continually speaking and when you do speak; you are confident, articulate and credible (another 3!).

6. Integrity
Demonstrating that you have integrity will help your influence. Be authentic, be open and be transparent. Your influence in the boardroom will be developed when others trust you and this comes along with your statutory duties as outlined in sections 175 – 177 of the 2006 Companies Act which is all about your duty of independence. Pay attention to declaring interests, avoiding them and complying with the requirements of completing registers related to probity.

So there you have it – your guide to developing power and influence in the boardroom. One of my favourite quotes about boards is the one that Carver says about them being: “…incompetent groups of competent individuals…” You are likely sitting on that board because you have the right level of competency and skill to execute your duties with dove like precision but you must not leave those skills and abilities at the door but rather hone them to become an effective board member who has both power and influence in the boardroom.

Until next time…