It is not uncommon for a Board and their Senior Management group not
to align their reporting, governance and communication activities.
Many Boards consider their conduit to Senior Management is via the CEO or MD. Whilst this is appropriate and necessary, progressive Boards and CEO’s recognise the need to more closely collaborate with and get to know their Senior and Middle Management teams.
Each group has their own challenges but in common they have the requirement to drive an organisation forward and achieve its goals.
When was the last time your organisation got its Board together with the management team or likewise the senior management and middle management teams?

Aligning Board and Senior Management Reporting, Governance and Communication

How we perform to win
Our client had a Board of eight people and a Senior Management team of seven, who in the short life of the organisation (several years) had never taken time together to discuss roles and responsibilities and challenges each group faced in meeting the goals of the organisation.
In discussions with the CEO and the Chair of the Board it was decided to begin the realignment with a two day residential workshop between the two groups. 4impact provided methodology and facilitation of the process with the objectives of the workshop being to discuss and agree roles and responsibilities and how each group could better support the other to progress the goals of the organisation.
The approach employed included:
·        Mixing the groups – at the start of the two days, small groups were formed comprising a mix of Board members and management staff,
this instantly started to break down barriers.
·        Activities – over the two days, short activities were conducted
exploring communication; leadership; responsibilities; and planning.
·        Major Activity – The groups were presented with a major activity resulting in a presentation to be provided at the conclusion of the workshop. Competition between the groups was introduced in the
form of a prize with a key element of the exercise being to observe
how the groups approached the activity (which required some out
of workshop activity).
Open Discussion – Open discussion was facilitated throughout the workshop by 4impact as different topics (some contentious) were introduced into the forum. An important aspect was to explore different opinions and views
but to listen and agree on a common approach on a range of issues.
Our commitment to deliver
The most gratifying outcome was the level of conversation amongst all participants as the workshop progressed and the level of trust and empathy that was developed. Two groups entered the workshop but at the end
there was acknowledgement that they were one, with varying responsibilities that were now better understood by all. More effective communication mechanisms were agreed as was improved support arrangements
between the groups and individuals. A reduction in time spent preparing Board papers and reduced Board meeting durations have followed the workshop, providing an indication of a more focused and ongoing collaborative approach.