Reviewing the organization’s progress towards meeting its strategic and operating plans is a key responsibility of the board. It is the area where the most time and effort is spent by the board. I can help the board organize its work so that important items are comprehensively addressed and a level of trust is developed with other directors on the board.
- Directors have the duty of diligence. They must be diligent in attending to their legal duties. This is done by being familiar with the organization, being informed and by preparing for and attending meetings whenever possible.
- Where advice of a specialized nature is required, the board should obtain the services of qualified professionals.
- Directors should exercise their best judgment when voting on any decisions, and not simply vote with the majority for no well-informed reason.
- Directors must properly maintain minutes of the organization and ensure that all corporate books and records are being maintained in proper order.
- Directors are required to exercise the degree of care and skill of a “reasonably prudent person”. The standard judges directors against their own personal characteristics, attributes, skill level, education, experience, and profession.
Boards, often through committee reports, should receive regular progress reports on measurable objectives including explanations of variances and plans to address them. I can work with boards and committees to identify what needs to be reported from committee to board and to develop comprehensive and informative dashboards, which are one page reports tracking significant indicators.
There are usually just too many risks for the board to follow individually, so, in most cases, the board will assign detailed work to committees and confine its oversight role to satisfying itself that risk management procedures exist and are followed. We can work together to make sure that the board is regularly informed of the findings of the committees and that no significant aspect of risk is overlooked.
Red flags are more likely to be spotted if the board gets information from a cross-section of knowledgeable and reliable sources in addition to senior staff, auditors and external advisors and the board receives reports on concerns expressed by whistle-blowers. I can help you set up such a process.
In MBOs, there are often additional measures which track attainment of the mission. They should be identified in the strategic plan. Boards need to know if results are being achieved. The effective board will rely on multiple sources of intelligence, both formal and informal, to keep on top of this aspect of its responsibilities. Board members can play a role in collecting and assessing this intelligence.