FUNCTIONING OF THE BOARD: COMMITTEES, BOARD MEETINGS & BOARD DYNAMICS
One of the most fundamental aspects in how an organization performs is how the Board functions. While the Board Chairperson can determine how effective the Board turns out to be, the professional finesse that respective Board Members bring, the depth to which they understand the business the organization is in and laws that govern the business as well as other compliance and regulatory issues are also equally important. There is plethora of issues that an effective Board Members and a high performing Board must embrace – dealing with conflicting interests among stakeholders, clarity of strategic direction the entity should take, risks and financial issues to mention but a few. How should the Board be structured in order to function effectively? Which committees should be established and how should they function in order to optimize productivity of the entire Board? How should Board Committee meetings be led and the entire Board Meetings conducted? What are the intrigues that take place in Boardrooms? What are the red flags that Board Members can look for to know if the Board has been ‘captured’ by management or management has been ‘captured’ by the Board? What if there are ‘camps’ among Board members, how do we deal with these?