The post pandemic board - a new collaborative endeavour PR File - Flipbook - Page 13
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The post pandemic board: a new collaborative endeavour
I would probably say that having humility is the
key piece of advice I would give to a Chair.
But humility in the sense that you need to show
confidence at the same time: be confident to listen to
others; be confident in being uncomfortable at what you
hear around the table; be confident in changing your
mind; be confident in making decisions.
“The good news is that there are now some
spectacularly effective board members from
backgrounds which would have caused them to
be almost unappointable even 15 years ago.”
During the lockdown period significant social
movements in the UK and globally gained traction.
The #MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter movement
and Sarah Everard movement individually attracted
significant attention and combined were successful
in shining a light on deeply entrenched equalities
issues and notions of power more broadly.
In the board room, such social movements prompted
an acceleration in efforts to improve representative
diversity, sharpening focus and creating new impetus
on the basis that the public might reject organisations
whose boards failed to reflect the population
adequately.
Boards that are thriving post pandemic seem quite
distinct in their attitude and approach to the diversity
of their non-executive teams. They are starting from
a position of unquestioning acceptance that the
broadest mix of experiences is absolutely necessary
for their organisation, and they are focused on
creating the cultures that support free and generative
discussion on the ‘big ticket’ issues.
A more practical and authentically inclusive approach
to populating non-executive teams, beginning with
what the organisation requires in order to navigate
complex and uncertain times, is resulting in a richer
and deeper blend of thinking through different
technical expertise, networks, cognitive diversity,
generational perspectives and lived experiences.
“Some of the best people I have worked with
are different from those who appointed them in
fundamental ways, their approach to problems
being informed by different life experiences.” There
is a strong and renewed commitment on the part of
chairs, implicit in their priorities. They are pushing
through notions of representative diversity to achieve
a more vibrant and versatile collective resource in an
equitable post covid board room.