«In my experience, the work a board member does is both hyped up and downplayed at the same time», writes Reto Jauch in a piece for finews.first.
This article has been published on finews.first, a forum for authors specializing in economic and financial topics.
Board members don’t run companies. Management does. But when it comes to culture or in times of change or crisis, they have a fundamentally important role.
One of the key challenges a board faces is ensuring that agendas and discussions are kept at the appropriate strategic level. That can be difficult in and as much that the members often want to lend their own perspectives and experiences.
«I was sure that my experience in e-commerce was going to revolutionize the company’s strategic direction when I joined the board. I thought it would only take a few meetings to suggest technological innovations and get them implemented within the space of a few weeks. I thought it was my job. It turns out, that wasn’t the case. Management had its own plans.»
Board member of a media group
It is important to recognize that members of the board of directors can offer industrial expertise but that they are more effective when they work as sounding boards and as a forum for good questions. It is not at all helpful when board members delve into daily decision-making. The boardroom is one of the few places and opportunities for long-term, strategic thinking.
It is always better to avoid falling into the dilemma of telling management what they need to be doing on a micro-level and instead steer conversations toward larger issues.
«I will never forget the board meeting that discussed the design of the new dessous collection together with ten of members and eight executives, most of whom were men. It would have been far more useful to spend the time talking about the future of the sector and changes in consumer behavior»
Female board member of a retail fashion group
It is still very rare that board members meet employees outside of meetings, although it is something that always pays off. I always say that board members should proactively take the opportunity to have a coffee with the chairman or arrange to meet management together with other board members. All new roles bring a measure of uncertainty with them, and it is always helpful to build relationships around them.
«Maybe it was because I specifically traveled to Switzerland for the board meeting. But I had agreed at the outset with all members that we have a separate 30-minute meeting. One member of the board told me that it was the first time that he held another meeting with other members of the board. The short conversation we had helped me to better understand the individual motivation of each member and I learned a great deal.»
Board member of an insurance company
The tasks of board members have become harder in the last ten years, not least given the changing expectations of corporate governance. That is fitting. The responsibilities should be seriously considered and worked through extensively. All the best board members that I know have read the board submission papers carefully, dealt with the challenges facing the team and are always prepared to listen and learn.
One can best serve the company by preparing for the role, being flexible, and being available beyond planned meeting times, particularly when one’s presence is required. Board members lose trust and influence when they are absent. Committee work requires ample time and board members inevitably become part of unplanned events, such as the sudden exit of a CEO, or the outbreak of a global pandemic. It is critical for board members to be engaged in such times of change and crisis. The executive leadership team needs to know that they are on their side regardless of the highs and lows they are facing.
«When the crisis started, we held extraordinary meetings practically daily. Everyone had to move their planned vacations, travel and other professional commitments.»
Board member of a bank
The best board members that I know of recognize that they are members of a team. They are there to serve clients, employees and shareholders. Occasionally, they will have to make difficult decisions, such as having to replace a CEO. But most of the time they are there as a critical friend, one who is challenging yet constructive, and never egotistical in their views.
Reto Jauch runs the board & CEO practice at Schulthess Zimmermann & Jauch. He regularly hosts and moderates roundtables for board directors and decision-makers from politics and academia on governance and leadership topics. He is a managing partner of Schulthess Zimmermann & Jauch, a board advisory and executive search firm with offices in London, New York, and Munich. Jauch was previously head of Europe for board advisory and search practice at A.T Kearney, where he was a partner from 1995 until 2002.
Previous contributions: Rudi Bogni, Peter Kurer, Rolf Banz, Dieter Ruloff, Werner Vogt, Walter Wittmann, Alfred Mettler, Robert Holzach, Craig Murray, David Zollinger, Arthur Bolliger, Beat Kappeler, Chris Rowe, Stefan Gerlach, Marc Lussy, Nuno Fernandes, Richard Egger, Maurice Pedergnana, Marco Bargel, Steve Hanke, Urs Schoettli, Ursula Finsterwald, Stefan Kreuzkamp, Oliver Bussmann, Michael Benz, Albert Steck, Martin Dahinden, Thomas Fedier, Alfred Mettler, Brigitte Strebel, Mirjam Staub-Bisang, Nicolas Roth, Thorsten Polleit, Kim Iskyan, Stephen Dover, Denise Kenyon-Rouvinez, Christian Dreyer, Kinan Khadam-Al-Jame, Robert Hemmi, Anton Affentranger, Yves Mirabaud, Katharina Bart, Frédéric Papp, Hans-Martin Kraus, Gerard Guerdat, Mario Bassi, Stephen Thariyan, Dan Steinbock, Rino Borini, Bert Flossbach, Michael Hasenstab, Guido Schilling, Werner E. Rutsch, Dorte Bech Vizard, Adriano B. Lucatelli, Katharina Bart, Maya Bhandari, Jean Tirole, Hans Jakob Roth, Marco Martinelli, Thomas Sutter, Tom King, Werner Peyer, Thomas Kupfer, Peter Kurer, Arturo Bris, Frederic Papp, James Syme, Dennis Larsen, Bernd Kramer, Armin Jans, Nicolas Roth, Hans Ulrich Jost, Patrick Hunger, Fabrizio Quirighetti, Claire Shaw, Peter Fanconi, Alex Wolf, Dan Steinbock, Patrick Scheurle, Sandro Occhilupo, Will Ballard, Nicholas Yeo, Claude-Alain Margelisch, Jean-François Hirschel, Jens Pongratz, Samuel Gerber, Philipp Weckherlin, Anne Richards, Antoni Trenchev, Benoit Barbereau, Pascal R. Bersier, Shaul Lifshitz, Klaus Breiner, Ana Botín, Martin Gilbert, Jesper Koll, Ingo Rauser, Carlo Capaul, Markus Winkler, Konrad Hummler, Thomas Steinemann, Christina Boeck, Guillaume Compeyron, Miro Zivkovic, Alexander F. Wagner, Eric Heymann, Christoph Sax, Felix Brem, Jochen Moebert, Jacques-Aurélien Marcireau, Ursula Finsterwald, Michel Longhini, Stefan Blum, Zsolt Kohalmi, Karin M. Klossek, Nicolas Ramelet, Søren Bjønness, Gilles Prince, Salman Ahmed, Peter van der Welle, Ken Orchard, Christian Gast, Jeffrey Bohn, Juergen Braunstein, Jeff Voegeli, Fiona Frick, Stefan Schneider, Matthias Hunn, Andreas Vetsch, Fabiana Fedeli, Kim Fournais, Carole Millet, Swetha Ramachandran, Thomas Stucki, Neil Shearing, Tom Naratil, Oliver Berger, Robert Sharps, Tobias Mueller, Florian Wicki, Jean Keller, Niels Lan Doky, Karin M. Klossek, Johnny El Hachem, Judith Basad, Katharina Bart, Thorsten Polleit, Bernardo Brunschwiler, Peter Schmid, Karam Hinduja, Zsolt Kohalmi, Raphaël Surber, Santosh Brivio, Mark Urquhart, Olivier Kessler, Bruno Capone, Peter Hody, Florin Baeriswyl, Michael Bornhaeusser, Agnieszka Walorska, Thomas Mueller, Ebrahim Attarzadeh, Marcel Hostettler, Hui Zhang, Michael Bornhaeusser, Reto Jauch, Angela Agostini, Guy de Blonay, Tatjana Greil Castro, Jean-Baptiste Berthon, Marc Saint John Webb, Dietrich Goenemeyer, Mobeen Tahir, Didier Saint-Georges, Serge Tabachnik, Vega Ibanez, David Folkerts-Landau, Andreas Ita, Michael Welti, Mihkel Vitsur, Fabrizio Pagani, Roman Balzan, Todd Saligman, Christian Kaelin, Stuart Dunbar, Carina Schaurte, Birte Orth-Freese, Gun Woo, Lamara von Albertini, Philip Adler, Ramon Vogt, Andrea Hoffmann, Niccolò Garzelli, Darren Williams, Benjamin Böhner, Mike Judith, Jared Cook, Henk Grootveld, Roman Gaus, Nicolas Faller, Anna Stünzi, Thomas Höhne-Sparborth, Fabrizio Pagani, Guy de Blonay, Jan Boudewijns, Beat Wittmann, Sean Hagerty, Alina Donets, Sébastien Galy, Roman von Ah, Fernando Fernández, Georg von Wyss, Stefan Bannwart, Andreas Britt, Frédéric Leroux, Nick Platjouw, Rolando Grandi, Philipp Kaupke, Gérard Piasko, Brad Slingerlend, Dieter Wermuth, Grégoire Bordier, Thomas Signer, Brigitte Kaps, Gianluca Gerosa, Christine Houston, Manuel Romera Robles, Fabian Käslin, Claudia Kraaz, Marco Huwiler, Lukas Zihlmann, Nadège Lesueur-Pène, Sherif Mamdouh, Harald Preissler, Taimur Hyat, Philipp Cottier, Andreas Herrmann, Camille Vial, Marcus Hüttinger, Ralph Ebert, Serge Beck, Alannah Beer, Stéphane Monier, Ashley Simmons, Lars Jaeger, Ha Duong, Claude Baumann, Andrew Isbester, Shanna Strauss-Frank, Teodoro Cocca, Bertrand Binggeli, Marionna Wegenstein, George Muzinich, Jian Shi Cortesi, Razan Nasser, Nicolas Forest, and Joerg Ruetschi.
