Are you a frog? More correctly, are you a frog slowly being boiled in a pot?
Think back to your last board meeting. How did the interactions look around the table? Was the agenda the same as the prior meeting and the meeting before that?
Did your colleagues turn up and work through each paper methodically as has been done previously without bringing fresh insight and perspective from their own independent thinking and reading?
Did anyone bring across best practice from other sectors or organisations or perhaps even read the rich library on the Institute of Directors website for current information on the topics?
Were there discussions capturing different viewpoints on the matters at hand before a decision was reached?
Or did the clock tick and as the allotted hour approached, perhaps the conversation moved faster to tick off the papers rather than engage with the content in the manner it deserves?
Would you describe the meeting as rear-view focused discussion or as governors, did you look out into the horizon and scan the competitive plains and think about what lies ahead?
Did someone independent come in and present, helping you to fill in expertise gaps and broaden out the lens in which your organisation views matters?
Did everyone generally agree with each other, nod wisely and endorse easily what came forward?
Feels pretty comfortable when it is like that, some might even say productive, as you move at rapid pace through reports and manage feedback. Or perhaps, did someone, maybe it was you, speak up because you just see things a little differently?
Perhaps you had read something that prompted inquiry or had sought more information prior to the meeting and wanted to share your findings with others. Maybe a stakeholder position had motivated you or perhaps you were just that frog that decided the water was a little too hot so you jumped out of that pot and raised your hand to speak.
It is very easy for board meetings to take a repetitive form and work to their allotted time. It is also easy to think something is a dumb question so you do not ask or that the people around the table know more than you, and because they are not saying anything then maybe you should not either.
If the person who has been there years does not see a problem in what is presented then it must be OK, right?
Well, either that or they are used to the temperature in the pot and feel pretty comfortable.
Group think is easy to come by; independent and informed thought, by contrast, is a valued asset. And just like any asset, it can grow in value over time.
It takes an effort of will to recognise and modify that which we have normalised and accepted month on month. It can be lonely and uncomfortable but that does not make it wrong.
And while respectful and informed engagement is a key tenet of any governor, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t challenge the thinking around the table and the validity of past assumptions. The pace of change today is such that just about everything is worthy of rechecking our thinking.
If you do not believe me, think what was impossible and absolutely no way before Covid and now has been normalised, accepted and considered mainstream or, dare I say it, the new normal.
People and what they need, how they work, when they work, what they work at. Laws, regulations, guidance and directives as society rebalances and grapples with equity.
Technology and infrastructure as we change tack at pace and embrace digital transformation. Modern slavery, consumerism and exploitation. Environmental considerations that can no longer be something for the future to deal with.
Incorporating Tikanga Maori alongside Treaty of Waitangi principles. Stakeholder primacy. Take your pick, there are plenty of governance issues to be embraced, discussed and plans for your business to be considered accordingly.
Finally, while you are completing that reflection on the past meeting, look carefully at your colleagues. You are all in this together. In good times and in bad.
Do you really have the combination of skills you need or has everyone just endorsed the reappointment process because it is comfortable and we all work well together.
Ask yourself, when boiling point is reached and it is no longer possible to jump out of the pot because something has gone wrong, do you think it may be because no-one put their hand up and started the debate that could have led you down a different direction?
Is that because you do not have the correct skills for now or perhaps you just have not yet learnt to get the best out of each other and create an environment where everyone is invited to speak up.
With reflections complete, it is now down to you. Read widely, engage with different opinions until you sharpen your own and then pull your chair up at the table, ready to add a rich perspective and value. Speak up because who wants to be a boiled frog anyway?
- Trish Oakley is the chairwoman of the Otago Southland branch of the Institute of Directors (IOD). This article is opinion only and not intended as governance advice. IOD is the professional body for directors and is at the heart of New Zealand’s governance community.
