Developing and enhancing board effectiveness

In all sectors - private, public and not-for-profit - stakeholders are insisting on increased transparency and dialogue with the leaders and boards of the organisations with which they engage.

One of the key roles of any board is to ensure that there is the appropriate vision, strategy, and leadership in place to achieve the stated aims and objectives of the organisation. a fundamental part of this means making sure that the board is a balanced group with the knowledge, skills and experience to represent the governance, functional, cultural, and expert needs of the organisation.

Best practice suggests that boards should continually review their composition and effectiveness to identify not only the individual capabilities across the group of board members, but also to review the qualitative aspects of effectiveness: the dynamics, relationships and overall success of the board as a team.

as the organisation that holds a unique position in the drive towards director professionalism, the IoD is well qualified to help. Our Board Development Service provides practical, relevant and time-effective solutions for the development needs of organisations of all types and in all sectors.

Experts talking to experts: solutions that are tailor-made for your board and its objectives

Two features of the IoD Board Development Service are specific and exclusive.

The first is that all programmes are delivered by people who are not only skilled facilitators, but who have also worked at Board level within organisations ranging from multinational corporates and SMEs, to all sizes of public sector organisations and not-for-profit bodies. This ensures that whatever your programme's objectives, you benefit from direct and relevant experience which is recognisable and useful to delegates in their everyday working life.

The second is that all our programmes can be designed and delivered in a format that's specific to your organisation's needs. In every case, we will take a thorough brief from you on your requirements and desired outcomes. as an additional benefit, our analysis will often produce valuable new insights that can enrich the value of the programme you undertake. a programme that addresses the specific issues before your Board will maximise the value of the process as a learning experience, as well as minimising the demands for time placed on people who are already very busy.

Methodology and approach

Programmes are designed to be highly interactive and to concentrate on giving participants a real understanding of the issues under discussion. Our method is to deliver short and concentrated workshops which are given focus as a result of understanding the culture, structure, issues and desired outcomes of the client organisation. This means that as well as gaining a thorough awareness in the context of current business issues, boards can develop and agree action plans for immediate implementation.