Aboard Management Making decisions

Boards are responsible for a lot of decisions — plus the number is only getting greater. These are decisions with high-stakes, a lot of uncertainty and they are not the kind of thing you are able to delegate.

Suzanne Nimocks: I think it is very important just for the board to have a sound decision-making procedure that allows these to do the job they are paid you need to do and help administration teams help to make good decisions. A good process will include such things as challenging the assumptions, playing devil’s advocate and helping management produce alternatives. It will also incorporate techniques for avoiding groupthink (eg thinking, Six Thinking Hats, Disney Planning Technique etc).

This is certainly helped with the use of tools just like RACI, as well as the board may have a formal procedure to decide which in turn issues work for its type. It might also use the output from a board retreat or the work of committees that have been tasked with specific decisions, to be sure that the decision is within the agreed risk appetite and was informed by all the advice it includes received.

Leigh Weiss: I believe the key is to consider a step again from the certain decision you are facing and consider, on one hand, the scope of the potential impact (what’s at risk) and, on the other hand, the level of certainty about whether it will take place. This helps you prioritize the best places to spend time and be sure that the table is producing a superior quality decision based upon the best details https://boardmeetingtool.net/board-chair-responsibilities/ obtainable.