Obstacles real for Pasifika leaders
Unconscious bias and ignorance could be blocking diversity on boards. Find out more about the obstacles faced by directors.
It can be challenging being a board in the modern age. Changing global forces, including digital and technological advancements and societal values, mean directors need to understand, evaluate and apply new information to benefit the organisations they serve.
A board’s internal dynamics can have a big impact on how individual directors and the board, as a whole, performs. A lack of support or dysfunction can lead to unrealised potential.
Some common mistakes for a board include looking back too much, getting too caught up in internal matters, getting side tracked by minor issues, or falling into familiar routines that offer limited value. Even if board members are collegial with each other and are passionate about the organisation’s purpose, they might struggle to understand or accept new information. Or they may fail to replace members who aren't pulling their weight.
Board agility is often suggested as an important component of board performance, with the hope that it can ensure boards govern with greater foresight. The Institute of Directors has identified ‘board agility’ as one of the Top Five Issues for directors in 2023. As a way of navigating this fast-paced era of change, it is as much about a “mind-set” as anything technical.
But what exactly does being ‘agile’ mean in the context of governance? Can the agile philosophy, that originally came from the software industry, meaningfully find a place in the world of board governance? And if so, how can boards cultivate a culture that fosters agility at both the individual and board level?
We sat down with Dr Tania Graham, a registered psychologist and director at leadership assessment organisation Cerno. In our discussion, she sheds light on what it means to be agile, why boards might want to recruit agile directors, and how directors can become more agile.
TG: We often think of agility as the ability to adjust in a nimble and effective way to changing circumstances. Agility is important at both a whole-of-board and an individual director level.
Being agile supports effective board decision-making. What this looks like in practice is an expansive analysis of challenges and changes that incorporates a diverse range of perspectives. It includes questioning and challenging the board’s thinking, debating, exploring and testing a range of potential options.
Increasingly, boards are operating in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world where circumstances are changing constantly. There has also been increasing recognition that boards need to govern in more inclusive ways. Agility is fundamental to governing effectively in these types of environments. Boards are more likely to be agile if their members are agile, so it’s important to recruit directors that display agility.
TG: Yes there are, although we view agility as an advanced skill. There are a lot of skills that underpin agility and these skills can be tricky to develop (hence the importance of recruiting directors that already have these skills). The most critical skills include:
1. Flexibility of thought: A willingness to think in different ways, be challenged, welcome new ideas, and think in a non-linear way. There are three key skills that enable flexibility of thought:
2. Flexibility of behaviour: A willingness to act in different ways. Agile directors adjust their style and approach to reflect the changing needs of situations and the people around them (rather than resorting to a one-size-fits-all style). This requires a strong ability to ‘read’ situations and people, and knowledge of a range of different styles and approaches that can be applied to issues. Directors can grow the ability to be flexible in their behaviour by challenging themselves to do things differently from how they’ve done things in the past.
3. Self-awareness: Self-awareness is absolutely critical to agility. Truly agile directors have insight into their strengths, development areas, preferences, biases, style and impact on others. They recognise when a particular approach is not working, and when they need to change tack. Unfortunately, in our experience assessing senior leaders, many people tend to think they are highly self-aware when in fact they are not (so this is likely to be a blind spot for many directors). Directors can strengthen their self-awareness is by regularly reflecting on their effectiveness and by seeking others’ feedback (our 360° feedback tool can be very helpful for this).
TG: I’ll focus on the psychological challenges and barriers here:
1. Rigidity/inflexibility: If some of the most important skills for agility are flexibility of thought and behaviour, then rigidity of thought and behaviour are some of the biggest challenges to agility in two ways:
2. Confidence and resilience: There are plenty of directors who experience self-doubt and lack self-confidence. This means that they can be reluctant to move outside of their comfort zone, innovate, take risks, admit when they’ve made a mistake, question and challenge, and make well-informed decisions – all of which can impede agility.
TG: Leadership is critical in modelling agility and encouraging an agile culture. Leaders can model agility by asking questions, teasing out others’ ideas, welcoming different ideas, experimenting with different approaches and challenging the status quo.
Leaders can encourage an agile culture by creating an environment that is safe and supportive, where people feel free to bring a diverse range of views to the table, where they are encouraged to explore and test a wide range of views and ideas, and learn from their mistakes. Rewarding agility when they see it, and calling out behaviours that undermine agility, are also critical here.
Defining what effective agility looks like (and what it doesn’t look like) in practice, and why it is important, is also important. Leaders could encourage regular discussion to ensure there is a common understanding of their desired agile culture.
TG: The most obvious risk is that a board that is highly agile could be seen as scattered in its focus and as perpetually changing the organisation’s direction. This can give the impression of a directionless waka and create a sense of instability, and possibly a lack of confidence in the board. That’s where an unwavering focus on the vision is imperative.
There is also a risk that board decision making is slowed down. For example, a board that spends too long exploring a diverse range of views and possibilities may be slow to agree decisions and actions. Regularly evaluating the balance they achieve between exploration, analysis and action is important.
TG: Boards can increase the diversity of their members. This will enable a broader range of perspectives and skills to be brought to bear when boards face new challenges and changes.
A key way that directors and boards can strengthen their agility is by regularly engaging in critical self-reflection and by seeking feedback. In addition to using board evaluation tools offered by the IoD, they could ask themselves and others questions such as, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being extremely effective), how effective am I at:
For boards that are interested in a robust evaluation of their agility, Cerno offers independent interview-based board reviews. These reviews provide rich insight into members’ thoughts and feelings about all-important board dynamics (rather than focusing on governance responsibilities per se). Cerno’s reviews flush out board strengths and areas for improvement so chairs and members gain insight into their particular situation. Specific factors of greatest interest to the chair are also included (agility, meetings, decision-making processes, diversity and inclusion, and relationship with executive leadership). Please contact Cerno for more information on info@cerno.co.nz or 04 473 9966.
The Governance Leadership Centre is keen to further explore agility principles in practice. If you are a director who has experienced what it is like to introduce agile principles into the way your board works, we would love to hear about your experience. Contact glc@iod.org.nz