Are the board and the chief executive the perfect match?

Yes! According to Governing with Intent (An inquiry into trustee board effectiveness Onboard/BWB 2015).

• 74% of board members believe the chief executive’s performance is enhanced by the role of the chair compared to 87% of chief executives who believe the chief executives  performance is enhanced by the role of the chair.

• 65% of board members thought the chief executive supported the board to govern effectively compared to 35% of board members who did think the chief executive supported the board to govern effectively.

• 81% of board members thought there is candour in the relationship between the chief executive and the board, compared to 19% of the board did not think there was candour.

These statistics speak to the importance of the role of the Chair in maintaining board effectively and demonstrating leadership.   The Chair has to be adequately equipped to perform this role.

Worryingly that the Association of Chairs (AoC) has published a survey that shows that Chairs are not receiving the support they need to perform their role as efficiently and effectively as needed.   According to AoC:

• 34% of Chairs had an induction (the most basic form of support).
• 37% accessed training (two thirds were funded by their organisations and a third paid for themselves)
• 16% had any mentoring or coaching.
• Fewer than 50% had assessed any kind of development support in the last 12 months.
• Many Chairs restricted themselves to any free sources of support.

This pessimistic picture has to change if there is to be high performing governance. Chairs must be able to access the support they need and their organisations have got to invest in their performance. It is only with fully equipped Chairs that Chief Executives can be matched with the perfect partners to support effective leadership.