Maximising Board Impact

Confronted with a world of shifting donor priorities and competitive resources, it is more critical than ever for an effective and efficient relationship between an Organisation’s Executive Team and their Governance Structures. SRI Executive’s research and experience indicates that the most impactful boards work work best when ensuring that resources are more strategically targeted. The best Boards provide challenge when it’s needed, bring in multiple perspectives and ensure that the organisation is delivering while providing value for money, which funders are increasingly demanding. They know that investment in their own development will pay off in terms of real results, and real impact. However, this ‘hands on’ governance approach can create tension between an Executive Team and its Board members, rather than a unified vision of purposeful engagement with clear areas of responsibility.

Equally tensions between an Executive team and its Board can arise if there is not a regular and explicit engagement to ensure Board buy-in to an organisational strategy and how it is being implemented. This can result in the Board questioning aspects of implementation in the absence of a clear opportunity to deal with matters of principles. Board members, either collectively or individually, may need coaching or training on their role and responsibilities to ensure the institutions’ vision and goals are achieved and the leadership mandate is delivered.

Other critical elements in Board-Executive relationships relates to

(a) finding the right balance between strategic debates and operational guidance/decision-making and

(b) providing the Board with the right information (nature, volume, frequency and form of presentation) to ensure compact oversight and to avoid micro-management.

Thus, to ensure effective collaboration towards a common goal, it is important to ensure that an organisation is doing the following:

n Delivering on its mission and mandate;

n Demonstrating that resources are used to effect (impact);

n Operating efficiently and effectively;

n Providing tailored and targeted information on resource utilization;

n Effectively engaging governance organization members not only to “govern”, but also to support the organization in achieving its objectives.

If these points are addressed to effect, the necessary trust can be created that allows for the bureaucratic aspects of governance to be reduced to an efficient minimum, engagement of board members to be maximised towards achieving organisational goals and the leadership team to focus on delivering results. However, getting to this point can be quite challenging, as it requires a clear and endorsed organisational strategy (and work programme and budget), effective and transparent reporting systems and a governance process that is well-managed.

For your Leadership Team and Board to reach this point of clarity and trust, SRI Executive will support you through a three-phased process that includes a strategic assessment and review, a deep dive consultation process and the development of rules of engagement that are based on balanced objectives, clear decision-making processes and accountability.

Phase One Phase Two Phase Three

Strategic Assessment and Review Consultations Workshop: Rules of Engagement & Roadmap

n Organisational Literature Review (Assessments, Evaluations, Organisational Structure, ToRs)

n Analysis

n Consultation Design and Conduct Interviews

n Identify Barriers and Gaps that are preventing an effective relationship and/or operating ability

n Translate/Distil Findings for Consideration

n Review consultation findings and organisational analysis

n Shared Understanding of Key Concerns that need to be addressed

n Create and Agree upon Rules of Engagement

n Building a roadmap and next steps for the way forward

Phase One consists of a deep literature review that includes an analysis of relevant key internal and external documents in your respective sector and strategic priorities, bearing in mind comparable organisations. This literature review will then be formulated into an initial SWOT framework that will lay the foundation for an effective consultation design.

Phase Two consultations can lead in some cases, to the conclusion that the issue is mainly one of principle (direction of the organisation), rather than (only) process. In that case, we would recommend pausing to undertake a “Stop and Think” exercise to ensure that procedural solutions are not deployed to ‘paper-over’ issues of principle.

The third phase of this process is centred around a one-day engagement between Members of the Board and the Executive. Since a solid solution must be based on a shared understanding of underlying issues and their importance, the session will sequentially build towards the following:

n A shared understanding of key concerns that need to be addressed in to maximise effectiveness of the Board-Executive relationship;

n Agreement on how members of the Board can most effectively support organisational goals and how they will be equipped (assisted);

n An agreed format for future Board meetings (and other forms of engagement, including Board retreats);

n Agreement on the type of information (nature and scope) needed by the Board to fulfil its various roles;

n Consensus on the modalities for feed-back on the (especially external) engagement and how collaboration is perceived by both the Board and Executive.

Know Where you Stand

Define Modalities & Expectations

SharedSense ofStrategic Direction

Effective Structures for Board

Engagement

Why SRI? For the past twenty years, SRI Executive has placed, advised and coached CEOs, Senior Management Teams and Board Members in the international development arena. As such, we truly understand the challenges and pain points organisations and their governance face. We can support an organisation and its Board to align in support of a shared vision.

Whether those challenges are on diversifying their funding base, demonstrating value for money and impact for benefi ciaries, effi cient resource utilisation or re-examining their value proposition in an upcoming strategy refresh and we can help.

This Maximising Board Impact exercise, rooted in mediation and confl ict management principles, is designed to build the necessary

trust so that governance bodies and leadership teams can purposefully engage to ensure that the organisation is delivering on their mandate and mission towards positive social outcomes.

Who will be working with you? To address these challenges and opportunities previously described, SRI Executive Strategy’s suite contains a roster of highly qualifi ed consultants that span across sectors. This team, managed by Mr. Yvo de Boer and Ms. Shawna Walsh, is committed to ensure every one of our assignments contribute to the relevance and future of an organisation’s impact on the world. If you are interested to learn more or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Shawna Walsh, swalsh@sri-executive.com.

Yvo de BoerPartner, Senior Advisor on Global Sustainability

Yvo de Boer is a Partner of SRI Executive Strategy and Senior Advisor on Global Sustainability.

From 2014 to 2016 he served as Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a treaty-based International Organisation with 28 member countries, currently working in 25 countries to develop and implement green growth strategies.

Mr. de Boer has served as KPMG’s Global Chairman of Climate Change & Sustainability Services (CC&S). Before joining KPMG in 2010, Mr. de Boer led the international process to respond to climate change in the role of Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2006 to 2010.

Prior to his UN role, he was extensively involved in the European Union environmental policy, he also served as the Vice-Chair of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development, and acted as an advisor to the Government of China and the World Bank. In 2011 he was appointed as Chair for the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Climate Change. Mr. de Boer currently serves on the Board of Climate-KIC, which is Europe’s largest public-private innovation partnership focused on climate innovation to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Having served in leadership roles of large-scale organisations as well as on several boards, Yvo brings a unique perspective to governance, and how best to leverage the Board-Executive relationship to maximise eff ectiveness.

Yvo is a qualifi ed mediator.

Shawna Walsh Strategy & Organisational Development Specialist

Working alongside the Strategic Leads, Shawna will serve as the day-to-day point of contact, ensuring communication continuity, strategic analysis, and eff ective project management. With extensive experience in development eff ectiveness, Shawna manages the SRI Executive Strategy suite. Working alongside such organisations as the Green Climate Fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ICARDA, AfricaRice and the Global Water Partnership, Shawna has the strategy expertise and team management skills, to manage a project in an effi cient and high-quality manner.

Prior to joining SRI Executive Strategy, Shawna spent several years working within the International Development sector, for such organisations as USAID, PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland, and the International Monetary Fund. She designed and facilitated over 80 organisational development interventions which included team eff ectiveness and confl ict management sessions, organisational design, consultation processes, and multi-stakeholder partnership workshops to build organisational capacity.

She holds a BA in International Relations from Boston University and a M.Phil. (with Distinction) in Confl ict Resolution and Reconciliation from Trinity College Dublin.

Shawna is a qualifi ed mediator.

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SRI EXECUTIVE, 40 Grand Canal St. Upper, Dublin 4, Ireland l Phone: + 353 1 6675008