The board’s job is to provide guidance and supervise the executive management team. It ensures that the company’s policies are implemented, and that all fiduciary obligations are met. Some boards give too much power to executive leadership. The majority of boards do not. Sadly, the media abounds with stories of business www.contactboardroom.com/ideas-to-start-a-board-of-directors failures that are caused by improper or unqualified management teams.

One of the most effective ways to avoid issues is to make sure that your board members have a broad spectrum of skills and perspectives and functions well as a whole. This requires establishing board management principles such as accepting different perspectives and assuming leadership roles, encouraging an agile structure (e.g. forming committees for new risks), and engaging in continuous evaluation of the board as well as individual members.

Another key principle for a board of management is to avoid getting too involved in the day-today activities of your company. The primary function of a board is to define the long-term vision of your business and its place in the society.

It may seem like an obvious idea, but many companies are struggling to implement this concept. For example there are board members who start having meetings directly with management without the CEO’s knowledge, or jump to conclusions in an effort to be helpful. This could put the CEO in a bind. The ideal scenario is for the CEO to work with the board chair and other directors to resolve the issue and build trust once more.