Boardroom Tension - A Make or Break Dilemma...

I recall my Henley UK lecturers warning that Board, compliance, risk & Strategic Leadership priorities were often threatened by external as well as internal tension disrupters.

Economic Political uncertainties, Investor Activism are present curve disrupters stressing Boards of Directors.

Board Chair Capabilities are being rigorously tested because strategic risk and future direction is under threat! 

Tension can be characterised as disagreement, often uncomfortable but resolvable by healthy debate. 

Conflict, however is aggressive emotional tension that can escalate to extreme and unresolvable levels.

Tension is a positive and a necessary force for any effective board, but conflict is not. It is a disruptive, fundamental altering of Board dynamics in ways it may never recover.

A good board is one that orchestrates productive debate, manages tension, while a dysfunctional board allows unresolved tension to fester and escalate into conflict situations.

The chair has the most important role, depersonalising tension and conflict resolution. Recognising “red flag” warnings. 

Removing emotional overtones. Refocusing Director’s mind-set towards alignment behind the higher purpose of the board ie what the meeting or entity must achieve. Distilling a sense of personal responsibility, perspective that the goals of the entity are greater than the needs of any one individual member.

Strategies avoiding board meeting ambush, managing tension and minimising conflict include: 

• Establishing practise for “offline” discussions.
• Making face-to-face conversations the norm.
• Depersonalise tension by eliminating emotion.
• CEO writing letter to the board a week ahead of the board meeting, outlining big issues, that need to be addressed and things that the board might like to think about in advance.
• Chair pre-Board Discussion with individual and Directors pre board dinners where; the Chair outlines “need to address” or information demands, questions requiring debate / answering.
• CEO informally talking to report sensitivities, issues and recommendations etc...

This informal process may help remove tension, pathway for  identifying further information required. Productive solution without causing unnecessary discomfort in the Board room.

The role of the chair is to set firm boundaries and to be crystal clear about what is discussed in the boardroom, what needs to be dealt with outside.

The Chair must have a predictable, transparent process for handling contentious matters, conflict, dissension. Balancing collaboration, fairness while being authoritative. The skill of the Chair will ultimately ensure whether tension or conflict are present in the first place or later resolved.

All board members bring their own learnings, expertise, bias, roles, responsibilities, personal goals and agendas. They may even take pride in their own levels of independence and objectivity. Despite these attributes, Directors must ultimately work as part of the team that is responsible for the entities best long-term sustainable interests. 

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts.

Marsh Governance advises Listed Co’s, SME’s, CCTO’s, Boards. We work with Chairs’ and champion high international standards of ethical governance. 

We provide guidance for boardroom practices, insights and processes that will illuminate the way forward towards making boardrooms conflict free places of respect, confidence, harmony, collaboration, high energy and challenge.

I’m Doug Marsh. JP, Life Fellow NZIM, (Rtd) Fellow Inst. Directors, Wellington based Professional Chairman & Director, Inaugural President Business NZ & Hon.Consul. 

My career has been built on being at the frontier of competitiveness, ethical guardianship, strategic performance, forged by UK governance next practises learning, & continual engagement with international Directors.

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