Boardroom insights: what makes a great chair

Poor board oversight comes at a cost. A report by Harvey Nash in collaboration with London Business School’s (LBS) Leadership Institute (LI), Old Game, New Rules, reveals that board members are well aware of the risks. Of the 826 respondents, including chairs and non-executives from across the world, 82% report that companies pay a hefty price – socially, financially, environmentally – for ineffective boards. 

The risks are clear. But what is shaping decision-making in the boardroom today?

3D boardroom

Three pressing themes emerge: disruption, digitisation, diversity. Chairs must have the smarts and skills to lead in a 3D boardroom.

Disruption has become business as usual: 41% of those surveyed believed that their organisations were being disrupted compared to 31% of respondents in 2016. The digital revolution is to thank for changing consumer and employee behaviour. It has also created new markets and business models and has altered the way firms compete. According to the findings, digital skills will be the most required specialist competency for non-executives over the next five years.

Diversity of thought is becoming a widely-recognised creative catalyst, helping boards solve complex problems and organisations gain a competitive edge.

The implications of a boardroom increasingly concerned with diversity, digitisation and disruption require strong leaders. Chairs must become capable of responding effectively to rapid change and growing uncertainty. If it’s the sum of a chair’s judgement calls that defines the board’s legacy, what must great chairs know? And how should they act?