Lessons from our webinar on chairing through change
In early March I had the pleasure of sitting down with highly experienced charity chairs, Moira Sinclair and René Olivieri, to hear more about how to chair an organisation through a period of change. Here are my big takeaways:
Purpose front and centre
Purpose featured large in the discussion. A genuine passion for cause brought both Moira and René to being a charity chair. And they talked also about their role in holding this sense of purpose front and centre through every conversation, board meeting and interaction with the organisation. Without the pressure of daily delivery, the chair is in a unique position to “hold the space for conversations about the fundamentals” - for example by revisiting the founding origins of the organisation.
Risk appetite versus risk mitigation
Both René and Moira counselled on the need for boards to move away from narrow conversations about mitigating risk and engage consciously in conversation about appetite for risk. Both recognised that risk is inherent in delivering social change so setting a collective appetite for risk is critical in helping to deliver that change. Open, paper-free conversations and simple exercises of scoring individual risk appetite in order to understand collective appetite can really help.
Working ‘outside in’
The natural tendency of organisations is to look at the existing model of delivery and build from there. But both chairs recognised that they could help turn the telescope around and start by asking “What does the rest of the world need and want from us?”. Working ‘outside in’ requires investment in consultation with the communities an organisation serves and key stakeholders – responding to that feedback will help keep the organisation relevant and connected.
Building a positive Chair-Chief Executive relationship
As former CEs themselves, both Moira and René had much to contribute to how to create positive relationships between Chair and CE. They pointed to important hygiene factors that help build trust: the need for both chair and CE to adhere to a “no surprises” rule; the importance of weekly calls and being available for ad-hoc support and counsel. They also pointed out that many fall into the bear trap of acting as if the Chair is the CE’s boss. While a strong relationship at the top is important, it shouldn’t be to the exclusion of the CE building strong relationships to the whole board. Ultimately, the CE is accountable to the board as a collective - not just the Chair.
Building board culture
The need to build a trusted and respectful culture both across the board and between the board and the team was emphasised. Both had witnessed the destructive impact of boards who play “gotcha”, seeking to wrongfoot or critique the executive, as well as the corrosive effect of boards where trust is low.
They both recognised the role of the chair in setting standards of behaviour, the need for respectful listening and the encouragement of constructive challenge (with lots of practical tools mentioned including one-to-ones, trustee appraisals and active invitations to quieter trustees to contribute). It was also acknowledged that boards sometimes recruit with an eye on diversity, but then forget the inclusion aspect - the quality of welcome extended to recruits and the work needed to really hear diverse views and experiences were noted.
Celebrating success and sustaining motivation
The conversation ended in an unexpected place as both underlined the importance of the chair in celebrating wins and keeping motivation high in our current tough environment. Both pointed out how important it was to encourage busy teams to take time out to mark and celebrate major achievements was critical. Making sure that trustees feel connected to the work on the ground and having fun in the process was essential in retaining good, motivated board members.
Written by Katherine Rake, Founder and Consultant at Lucent Consultancy
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