People discussions in a Boardroom can be tough and difficult. The
reasons are plentiful. A business strategy might be created ahead
of what the organisation is capable of. This will lead to
irrealistic expectations on people and on HR to course correct. It
might be that the company has done blanket assessments on their
leadership to understand if they are fit for growth. Too often,
these blanket assessments of leadership are haphazard and narrow
and don't answer the questions we have on individual leaders.
Boards might think too much in individuals instead of teams that
have to perform. This can bring difficult politics to the table
based on personal preferences. A people discussion is per
definition very vague and unguided. Unlike a financial discussion
where we can lean on one unit of measurement (a currency) and many
ratios in benchmarks.
In our practice, we found that Boards have have much less
confidence in their ability to assess leadership than in their
ability to assess financial performance. Boards will have a view
on leadership like “this leader is charismatic, has a vision, or
treats people well” but there is little analysis behind what has
often become a “gut feel” approach. It should not be surprising
that Boards rather focus on the tangible financial aspects
instead of on the intangible aspects of leadership.
IntelligentBoardRoom has the Vision to create people debates that
are Relevant to the strategy, Unbiased in the individual opinions
and Focussed on the results. As an outcome, the people debate will
be as crisp and as clear as any financial debate. Leadership
creates 40% of the value of any strategic initiative and its about
time we give it the attention and analysis it deserves.
Cognitive software like IBR helps us human beings, to have a much
better people conversation. This space is dedicated to mindful
pieces that talk about how Boards and HR can do better in judging
if a Leadership Team can Execute the Strategy it stands for.