Dilemma: def: a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, esp. equally undesirable ones

The Dilemma

Readers of the introductory BoardGrowth™ article, Purpose, Responsibilities and Tasks of a Governing Board, may recall my view that the root of your challenge lies in finding the middle ground between micro-management (over-control) and blind trust (under-control).  Why is this issue so important?

Most boards think they're in control 

Consider this: Governance news in the past five+ years is full of stories of boards that thought they knew, thought they were in control, only to learn they weren't. In some cases, not knowing, not being in control, caused them to lose it all in the end, and in some cases, to be held liable for the outcome.

Most boards are not in control. Why?

Why didn't they know, and why weren't they in control? Possibly because they weren't directly involved in the operation, or they didn't meet often enough. Maybe they had to rely on management for the information they had. And maybe management wasn't getting them very good information.

What's the problem and how do you beat it?

Can the dilemma be overcome? I would say no. But it can be managed. In any case, there is no escaping the fact that you will need to choose which risk to take: The risk of slowing the organization down through micro-management, or going beyond what may be your comfort zone in trusting management.

Coming to grips with the dilemma

I would suggest that you focus on these key areas for improvement:

1. Insist that board members participate in an ongoing education or training program. Take time at each meeting to study governance itself (suggestion: select a BoardGrowth™ article, read it in advance, go over the discussion questions at the end of each article during your meeting, and develop a plan of action). Or call for a presentation from your management on some aspect of your operation.
2. Stop focusing on the past. Most boards spend 60 to 80 percent of their time hearing or reviewing what has already occurred (financial and staff reports, for example). If that is true for you, you're not spending enough time on making the future different from the past. Do learn from the past, but use that knowledge to create a brighter future. One way to do that is to insist on reviewing all reports before the meeting, and then adopting them via consent agenda. Past dealt with.
   
3. Strengthen your strategic planning process and the board's role in it. This is the principal means for you to get control of, and direct, the future.
4. Review vital statistics of the organization on a trend basis (known as a Balanced Scorecard in the literature, and an Instrument Panel in BoardGrowth™ parlance) to learn what the key causes of success and failure are.
5. Devote your meeting time and energy to the search for improved policy (the desired ends [plan], authorities of the CEO, data requirements, quality assurance, customer and competitor evaluation, the criteria for new investments and the evaluation of existing ones).

How you contribute to your organization's well-being

Your contribution -- your potential added value -- to the organization comes when you help improve policy and planning, and help develop better selection, evaluation and succession planning for the CEO. Determine the amount of time you're spending on these vital activities and make changes in order to spend more.

How to begin the process

Take the first steps to overcome this basic dilemma by doing one (or both) of the following:

• Download the article Use of a Consent Agenda. Study the downloaded material, and then develop a plan of action.
• If you are committed to improvement now, schedule a Board Self-Evaluation from BoardGrowth™. During the process, each of your board members will be asked to fill out a questionnaire. When all questionnaires have been completed, BoardGrowth™ will evaluate them and make recommendations for future action. You will receive assistance from a BoardGrowth™ professional throughout the process.