A good board will have directors who not only bring a diversity of backgrounds and experiences, but also a diversity of thinking styles, personalities and approaches to their roles in the boardroom. 

Sometimes the approach taken by a director, however, can limit their impact in meetings and with executives, and obscure the value they would otherwise bring. They may be too verbose and imprecise about the point they are making. They may react defensively if their point of view is challenged by another director or an executive. They may by hyper-critical, challenging and debating everything coming to the board. 

The Request for Coaching

Blackhall & Pearl was asked to work with a director whose approach was a source of growing frustration for the rest of the board and the management team.  The director was also dissatisfied that they were not able to get the cut-through they wanted on the issues of most concern to them.

Understanding the Issues

We met individually and confidentially with each of the other board members [and with members of the executive leadership] to understand not only their frustrations, but also the value that they saw the director could otherwise be bringing.

The anonymised feedback was then discussed with the director to explore why they might be receiving such feedback and to hear objectively their perspectives. Importantly, we also discussed what the director felt they could be contributing to board discussions, their objectives on the board and the frustrations they experienced from not having the impact they wanted.

Developing a Targeted Approach

Following the feedback session, a Blackhall & Pearl Director Coach worked with the director ahead of each board meeting to identify:

• The issues the director wanted to raise
• The impact they wanted to make in raising that issue
• The approach that would be most likely to achieve that impact
• The best way to pursue the issue further, if needed

The director and coach also worked to identify those issues that were not material enough to warrant raising in the boardroom, to maximise the impact of the director on the issues that mattered most.

Positive Outcome

Following six months of pre-meeting coaching, the director was able to recognise the value of different approaches to making an impact they wanted. The Chair reported that the director’s contribution had lifted significantly, and the board and executives’ frustration had abated. The director subsequent gained universal support for their reappointment to the board.