Introduction To Leading the Board Programme – Zanzibar

Introduction

Leading the board of directors is a major challenge, requiring great wisdom and sensitivity. Those who have led boards know it is a role that requires a delicate touch as well as a firm hand.

Those who have led boards know it is a role that requires a delicate touch as well as a firm hand. Unlike leading other teams: meetings are infrequent, limiting the opportunities for bonding; the routines are often stilted and rigid; and fellow directors are all accomplished individuals, leaders in their own right.

Doing the chairperson’s job well rarely brings personal credit, as that is usually shared between the board and management; doing it badly, however, can lead to a dramatic loss of reputation as the leader of the board tends to shoulder most of the blame.

How does one pull off this most demanding of roles? – ‘being first among equals’ and ‘leading the leaders’?

Besides, a good board chair must perform a wide range of activities, including running board meetings, guaranteeing statutory compliance, handling interpersonal issues, maintaining the focus on high-level issues, watching the ethics, to managing one’s succession and that of fellow directors and senior officers.

Programme Objectives

The aim of this programme is to participants with valuable strategies for strengthening board/ committee performance, as well as specific ideas for improving personal contribution to their boards.

The programme will concentrate on cutting-edge techniques, strategies and action plans for improving board design, refining approaches, maximizing individual contributions, and enhancing corporate governance.

Developing Great African Leaders

For more information or application, please contact Shadrack Mwangangi via email

on smwangangi@strathmore.edu / eeopenprograms@strathmore.edu

or call +254 (0) 703 034 543 (Tel) / +254 (0) 728 983 306 (Cell).

Programme Delivery
This 2-day non-residential programme utilises a combination of learning aids and approaches such as pre-reading materials, lectures, syndicate group discussions and peer group learning.
A strong emphasis is laid on performance management concepts and on world-wide best practices which are applicable in the local and regional business environment.

Programme Benefits
By the end of the programme, you should be able to:

  • Validate your own experience against your peers and best international practices
  • Explore the nuances and subtleties of board leadership
  • Learn the tips and techniques of handling board members with ‘invisible skill’
  • Examine the leading issues that you must always focus on as a board leader
  • Restart your personal journey towards high-impact board leadership

Key Focus Areas
  • Understanding the role of chairperson
  • The key responsibilities of board leadership
  • Wisdom from those who have done it well – case studies in leading boards
  • The top issues that every chairperson must be on top of
  • The interpersonal dynamics of managing the board
  • The ‘wise chair’ – how to develop wisdom in leading the board
  • Chairing badly – common traps to avoid

Target Participants
Leading the Board is for sitting chairpersons and vice-chairs of private and public-sector entities.

Directors who are close to ‘taking the reins’ of board leadership will also be considered.
A small, carefully selected group of participants is assembled each year to provide a mix of experiences and contexts and create lively and insightful debate.

Faculty
SBS faculty members hold PhD’s from world-renowned institutions and are internationally acclaimed experts for their research on current business issues.

Moreover, they are successful business people, many with their consulting firms, operating in the real world of international business.
As a result, classroom discussions provide conceptual frameworks for effective decision making, along with practical tools for real-life implementation.