The strength of the relationship between the board and senior members of the team is important for any organisation. Sarah Loader, consultant at Campbell Tickell, outlines how organisations can strengthen this relationship to support more effective governance and better outcomes for the people they serve.
- Share a commitment to the values and culture of the organisation
Encouraging a culture that is open and built on mutual respect helps ensure a safe space for staff to provide honest information, advice and feedback to the board. Staff should feel confident and able to say things as they are, including, and perhaps more so, when things are not going smoothly.
- Recognise that you are ‘one team’ working for the benefit of those you are set up to help
Always remember that you are all working together towards your strategic aims. There should be a culture where constructive challenge from trustees is welcomed by staff to get to the best outcome for the charity, rather than making staff feel like they are being unfairly criticised.
- Have clear communication channels inside and outside of meetings
Make it clear what the appropriate formal and informal communication channels are. It is important that there is good dialogue, but in an approved way. This should also include offering regular feedback through all levels of the organisation. For example, it is important that the board hears regularly how senior staff feel about their experience of the boardroom.
- Define roles and responsibilities and the ‘rules of engagement’
Trustees shouldn’t delve into the detail or step on the toes of staff, and staff should bring the right information to the board to ensure they can make good decisions. Ensuring the difference between the roles of trustees and senior staff is clear helps ensure either group does not stray into the other’s territory. Paying conscious collective attention every now and then to the ‘rules of engagement’, or to how the board and senior staff want to and will work together is very helpful.
- Set out clear management relationships
Ensure the chair, chief executive and senior independent director (if there is one) have a clear role in managing and mediating the relationship. All three have responsibility to keep a watching brief on the quality and tone of the relationship and to take prompt action if it isn’t quite as it should be.
- Commit to learning and development
There is always more to learn and new and interesting approaches to consider. Sometimes joint development sessions can be helpful. Some organisations find that periodically exploring the different personality types across the board and senior team can be helpful to ensure understanding of the different ways individuals operate and learn.
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