The 6C’s of an Effective Board Member

I’m aware my blogs have governance as their central focus. I recently used my governance concept- ‘The 6Cs of an Effective Board Member’ to carry out a session for Common Purpose about leading with passion and integrity. You can find out more about Common Purpose which is a great initiative offering courses in leadership development by visiting their website.

So this month, I’ll tell you how you can apply ‘The 6Cs’ to being an effective leader. But for completeness, I also detail ‘The 6cs of an Effective Board Member’. Both leaders and those involved in the governance of organisations will find the 6Cs of leadership informative. The 6Cs are not listed in any particular order but when taken together, they produce measurable outcomes and valuable results.

The 6Cs of an Effective Leader

  1. Competence– You need to understand the core principles of leadership that is having a vision and motivating people towards that vision.
  2. Commitment– Lead from the front and practise what you preach!
  3. Contribution– Add value to the organisation, project or initiative that you are working on. Being a boss is different than being a leader! It’s not about a title; it’s about what you do!
  4. Comprehension– In order to lead effectively, you must understand the culture, history and the objectives of the organisation and be able to communicate them effectively to all stakeholders.
  5. Capability– There are numerous examples of the type of skills that a leader should have. However, influencing, negotiating, facilitating and communicating are always going to be key.
  6. Code– The Nolan principles are an essential guide but tenacity, determination and persistence are equally as important in being an effective leader.

 

The 6Cs of an Effective Board Member

If you want to increase performance then you need good governance, but where does good governance come from? Clearly it is the board of directors. It follows that the more effective the board members are, the more effective governance will be. Under performance and failure was highlighted recently by the Commons Education Select Committee in a report in regards to the performance of schools. The report highlighted the lack of effective contribution of school governors and the need to pay professionally qualified clerks to support the governance of schools. Schools are no different to organisations in the private or public sector as the responsibility for failure lies at the top of the organisation. In a school, that responsibility lies with the governors. The governing body should be made up of individually and collectively competent members of the public. Every governor (trustee/director), should have a core set of competences around finance, running an organisation, education and human resources which they are able to evidence and execute effectively. There should also be specialists in particular skills areas like finance and law so that the overall complement of the governing body has the wide range of skills and expertise to run the affairs of each school.

The issue is becoming increasingly concerning as the Coalition Government has devolved more power to individuals schools. Schools are converting to academies across the country and will now rely on their governing body to carry out that ‘critical friend’ role while at the same time scrutinising, monitoring and controlling the school.

 

So what does an effective governor, board member or trustee look like?

  1. Competence – Has core skills in finance, legal, governance, general commercial understanding and human resources.
  2. Commitment – Makes time to attend training, get inducted into the organisation, reads board papers, attends meetings and committees and takes time to understand the organisation.
  3. Contribution – Makes an effective contribution at board and committee meetings. Makes a valuable contribution at events on behalf of the organisation and at away days.
  4. Comprehension– Develops an understanding of the organisation and its activities, the history, culture and people.
  5. Capability – Each board member should have good communication alongside analytical and strategic thinking skills.
  6. Code – The Nolan Principles* identify a code of behaviour and to add to that code, board members should be sensitive and decisive. *Nolan Principles: Selflessness, Objectivity, Openness, Honesty, Leadership, Integrity and Accountability.

 

So there you are… the 6Cs of effective leaders and governance can add value not just to your board or organisation but to those that they serve.

 

Until next time…