Getting What You Need from Your Board of Directors

Build a bond with the chair: the top priority Today’s boards, both in Canada and the US, have more fiduciary responsibilities than ever before. They’ve also become more involved in larger, strategic aspects of corporate management like digital transformation, culture development, and talent management. This increased involvement and expectation of collaboration can be a challenge for many CEOs and senior leaders, especially those not used to working closely with boards. New executives may prioritize management teams and strategy development during onboarding, but this can be a mistake.

According to Rahul Bhardwaj, President of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), developing a relationship with the board chair should be your top priority in your first 90 days. He says, “in this environment of enhanced corporate governance, board alignment will be the key to success of the senior leadership team.” Bhardwaj also suggests working on the relationship with the chair even before beginning the first 100-day plan: “You need to start by creating a shared narrative of what good looks like for the organization,” he says.