The Savvy Director Blog

A board retreat can be a way to harness the board’s passion and expertise and align board members on strategy and goals. When the retreat’s been well planned and executed, directors leave feeling energized, and more engaged than ever in the future of the organization they serve.

The big advantage of a board retreat is that it differs from a regular board meeting in format, content, and tone. A typical board meeting is tightly scripted to get through a packed agenda in a limited time frame. Th...

 

As a director, you face a constant challenge: how to safeguard today’s performance while ensuring tomorrow’s relevance. It’s easy to find yourself locked into short-term thinking at the expense of long-term health.

The McKinsey Three Horizons of Growth framework can help you out of this trap. It provides a structured lens for balancing oversight across Now (current operations), Next (emerging opportunities), and Beyond (future innovation).

Adopting the framework requires a mindset shift fro...

In board governance, the issue of conflict of interest never goes away. The thing is, for some reason it’s way easier to spot someone else’s conflict of interest than it is to spot your own.

As a director faced with a board decision, the need to be free of conflict of interest arises from your fiduciary duty – your duty to govern in the long-term best interests of the organization. A conflict of interest occurs when you have interests that could influence the way you act or how you vote on th...

Picture this. Two directors read the same 300-page board package. Both highlight key sections and show up on time. One contributes little beyond a few clarifying questions. The other helps reframe a strategic decision, surfaces a hidden risk, and moves the room toward a clearer outcome.

What made the difference? Not the facts. Readiness.

Prepared directors have the information. They’ve read the materials, understand the agenda, and can follow the discussion. Ready directors have the mindset,...

Most of us like to think we’re self-aware – that we see ourselves clearly. Apparently, most of us are wrong. Research shows that only 10 to 15 percent of us fit the criteria for self-awareness.

Why does it matter? For board directors, self-awareness is an important attribute because when we see ourselves clearly, we can be more effective in the role.

For the various organizations that certify board directors, self-awareness ranks along with effective judgment and integrity as one of the ‘pe...

One of the most powerful tools in your director’s toolbox is the art of asking great questions. It’s so important that it’s one of The Six Key Habits of the Savvy Director. Regardless of your sector, your governance model, or the length of your tenure, your ability to ask insightful, timely, and courageous questions helps you create a lasting impact and elevates your board’s performance.

As a director, chances are you have lots of experience asking questions in high-stakes situations. Meaning...

by Alice Sayant, ICD.D

It seems that, everywhere I go, someone is talking about imposter syndrome.

First it was an online discussion about 'Cultivating Your Influence in the Boardroom'.

Then a conversation with board directors at the inaugural Women Get On Board Summit. (Hold the date for WGOB's next Summit in their 10th Anniversary year - May 11, 2026.)

And then, just the other day, a chat with a friend during a brisk walk in the park.

You see where this is going, of course. At DirectorP...

“The paradox of board leadership is that, while you might earn a seat on a board of directors thanks to your abilities, knowledge, or popularity, serving well as a board member means leaving your ego behind.” – Susan Mogensen, Brown Dog Consulting

It’s not a surprise that, as a general rule, board directors have healthy egos. After all, they’re most often selected from among the ranks of successful business people, entrepreneurs, professionals, and academics. Each one brings their own exp...

If you sit on a board today, you’ve seen the flood of “must-have” topics: artificial intelligence, AI ethics, cybersecurity/resilience, ESG disclosures, climate risk, DEI, modern slavery, biodiversity, geopolitical risk, digital transformation, gender and age diversity, talent strategy, supply chain vulnerabilities, shareholder activism – the list grows every month.

Sometimes, the governance buzz is deafening. For directors, it’s easy to feel torn between the urgent and the important.

Consu...

Have you ever served on a board with a director you’d consider ideal? Someone you can’t wait to have in the boardroom, to engage in conversation that’s forward thinking, inspiring, and infused with values and goals aligned with the organization you both serve?

If you haven’t experienced that yet, I sincerely hope you do at some point, because there’s nothing like it. No matter your colleague’s background, they come prepared - ready to participate in the board discussion. Maybe not for every t...