The Savvy Director Blog

As board directors, we often measure our impact by the weight of our responsibilities, the complexity of the decisions we make, or the prestige of the organizations we serve. But when our board term comes to an end, and our memory of all the meetings fades, what truly remains?

It’s not the title.

It’s not the time you spent.

It’s not the governance rules you learned.

It’s the legacy you leave behind in the hearts and minds of those you served with.

“They may forget what you said — but t...

I often close my email messages with the words ‘Stay Curious.’

For me, it’s more than just a closing line like ‘Sincerely’ or ‘Yours truly.’ I mean it as a reminder to the reader – and to myself for that matter – to intentionally focus on always bringing a lively state of curiosity to the board table.

I firmly believe that curiosity is one of the attributes that separates a ho-hum board director from a Savvy Director.

And I’m not alone in thinking that.

“The best board members are inhere...

One of the fundamental assumptions about the value of a board of directors is that group decisions produce better outcomes than those made by individuals. The idea is that diverse perspectives and robust debate improve the decision-making process. That’s often — but not always — true.

The reality is that, in the boardroom, group dynamics can get in the way. Consider Groupthink. It can cause directors to agree with one another for the sake of avoiding conflict. This group harmony comes at the ...

This is the last in a series of four Savvy Director articles dealing with various aspects of board and director evaluation. The first two articles in the series, “From Compliance to Improvement” and “From Evaluation to Action,” explored the board evaluation process, and the third, “Evaluating the Individual Director,” dealt with director self-assessments and peer evaluations.

When it comes to the board of directors, board meetings are where pretty much everything that matters gets done – idea...

Would you rather have a Nobel laureate who won’t engage, or a curious newcomer who asks the right questions?

This isn’t just hypothetical — it’s a real dilemma many boards face. As governance challenges grow more complex and stakeholder expectations rise, the composition of the boardroom has never mattered more. But when evaluating potential directors, one question often lingers: Is it more important to have the right skills — or the right mindset?

In this edition of The Savvy Director, we e...

Recently, I worked with a board of directors to prepare a list of potential interview questions for prospective board members. The questions were carefully selected to try to uncover candidates’ ‘Three C’s’ – competence, character, and chemistry.

The first two C’s are fairly obvious. Competence questions focus on education, knowledge, skills, and experience. Character questions are meant to reveal the candidate’s integrity and moral courage.

But what is the third ‘C’ – chemistry? And how doe...

One valuable skill for board directors in any organization is the ability to consider an issue from multiple perspectives.

Being able to see both sides of any issue allows us to thoroughly evaluate risks and benefits, balance stakeholder interests, anticipate challenges and objections, and make informed decisions.

For some, seeing both sides comes easily and naturally. For others, it’s a conscious effort.

Regardless of which camp you fall into, it’s a skill worth developing if you want to...

How can directors possibly know what is going on in the organizations they serve? After all, while management spends all their time immersed in operations and strategy, board members spend a comparatively small amount of time on their board duties and seldom step outside the boardroom.

That makes for a huge information gap.

As a board director, you’re pretty much completely dependent on management reports and presentations to best inform the discussion that’s needed to fulfill your responsib...

“It’s really hard to publicly support the board’s decision when I personally disagree with it.”

Yes, that’s a tough one for a well-intentioned board director who cannot support the will of the majority of board members. But is it necessarily a bad thing to vote against a motion?

I’d suggest it’s not. What’s important to the board is reaching consensus. When I refer to consensus, I’m thinking of a description from McKinsey that I read a few years ago. It went something like this:

Consensus...

When the Board-CEO partnership thrives, so does the entire organization. But when it falters, the repercussions can be swift and severe.

In today's complex and rapidly changing world, boards face the challenging task of providing proper oversight while allowing management the autonomy needed to be effective. This delicate balance is crucial for organizational success. It requires a flexible decision-making partnership between the Board and the CEO.

By understanding and managing the inherent...