The Moment When Bravery And Leadership Is Called For

When I've been working with Directors and Chief Executives I've noticed how often the subject of bravery comes up

. It's apparent that there are challenges during board meetings whenever there is an opportunity to pitch in on the discussion and contribute to the talk; talk about what behaviours are undermining overall performance as a team. There doesn't seem to be a problem talking about this outside of meetings - at the debrief for example, but there's no sense of bravery in the meeting, the place where it is really called for.

What You Could Have Said.

Imagine for example a member of your Executive team who has just presented a paper for review. A particularly grumpy Nonexecutive Director who likes to criticise everything immediately comes in with a put down. Your first temptation is to say nothing and not rock the boat. You know that you will have that debrief later and can then come to this person's support and criticise the behaviour of the Nonexecutive Director. But, for a change you're going to be brave. Without any undue delay you respectfully say, through the chair, something like this. "I know you didn't intend that to come across as a put down, but I've noticed this type of response before whenever someone from the Executive team is presenting a paper. I'd like to look into why this happens and would like to get advice from all of you to see how we can become more positive and creative. I know that you feel that there is inflexibility sometimes, but we need to be committed to taking whatever steps are necessary to make the meetings work better. I would also like it if you could be a bit more supportive and encouraging even if you don't believe something is right. Let's aim to have one on ones with NEDs as soon as possible to bring ideas to the next meeting for discussion."

Talking About Unhelpful Habits.

As the CEO it's important to challenge unhelpful habits that can hinder how Executive and Nonexecutive Directors communicate with each other as part of a unified team. If you don't challenge this then it's going to be more difficult to persuade the board to leave them behind. Whilst being positive and polite you need to make it clear that this type of behaviour has to cease.

Whilst you're careful in the way that you put it across, it's great to approach it this way. You might think that you run the risk of being seen as a grumpy person or may end up causing the Nonexecutive Director to take offence. However, this is a risk that you really need to take. During those difficult board meetings you need to follow an instinct and listen to your inner voice. That inner voice is effectively telling you to be brave, to stand up and get involved right now. This moment will not last long and if you don't dive in, you will undoubtedly miss the opportunity.

by: Pete Ashby

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