Beyond Board Effectiveness: Building High-Performing Boards
Gillian Karran-Cumberlege, IWF UK Member, President, Head of Chair Advisory & Co-Founder Fidelio Partners
What motivates me through the ups and the downs of scaling a business is the firmly held belief that it matters greatly who serves on the Board. Fidelio was founded some 15 years ago to build and assess boards. We have been an active and consistent supporter of women on boards during that period. Indeed, we have been recognised nine times in succession by the UK’s FTSE Women Leaders Review for our contribution to gender balance in UK boardrooms. My commitment to gender diversity is personal and also sits firmly within the context of board performance. In a turbulent, uncertain world boards play a crucial role. When politics is in flux, boards become all the more important as custodians of value.
In my work with Fidelio, I have the privilege of working with the boards of leading companies globally. One of my great sadnesses is how depressed UK plc has become as growth remains elusive. My background was capital markets having headed Global Investor Relations for both Volkswagen and UBS. Initially almost all of the boards we worked with were listed. In the meantime, we are seeing privately held companies and non-profits also take a much keener interest in the quality of governance and the strength of the board.
For many years the expectation for boards from regulators and shareholders was “effectiveness”. The shift to “performance” which implies clear metrics and accountability is welcome. But not all boards are ready for this. A few boards are complacent and many more are risk averse.
This does not need to be the case and it is a pleasure to work with an effective Chair in building and aligning the board, reviewing its work and continuing to develop board members for the very real challenges that all boards face.
Are high performing boards enough to address the problems of this world? Probably not, but board Members can make a tremendous contribution by building stakeholder trust, driving growth and being prepared to challenge orthodoxies.
No two boards are the same and demand for board talent is therefore both specific and varied. Contrary to the commonly held view that there is a shortage of effective board talent, I would argue there is a deep talent pool. It’s important, however, not to keep looking in the same old places at the same old profiles.
This is why our work with Fidelio is so rewarding. Understanding the organisation and the challenges it faces, and therefore what is needed from the board, can be painstaking work. But this rigour is absolutely essential to create the foundation for a high performing board. Getting it right has huge potential for the organisation and is also deeply satisfying for board members. It goes without saying that working with highly motivated boards who are committed to providing leadership is also a pleasure and a welcome challenge for the Fidelio team. This is very much what motivates each day in our work in the UK and around the globe.
