Tag: board leadership
Do behavioral biases impede board dynamics?
Although an audit firm might not be the first place you’d look for advice on board behavioral psychology, here’s an exception: a really interesting article from PwC about board dynamics and psychological biases that can impede boards from optimal performance and decision-making. The article identifies four common biases—authority bias, groupthink, status quo bias and confirmation bias—and provides clues for recognizing when your board might be afflicted with any of these problems, along with tips to address them. Well worth a read!
The Conference Board weighs in on key areas for board focus during the pandemic
In this article, the executive director of the ESG Center and the managing director, ESG, of The Conference Board identify seven key areas for board focus in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, essentially an update, given today’s practices and today’s crisis, of the Board’s 2009 report in the wake of the financial crisis. At the end of the day, while the pandemic has led to “increased responsibility, scrutiny, and uncertainty” for boards, the authors advocate that boards address those demands with “increased humanity. This is a time for board members to acknowledge their own abilities and limitations, as well as those of others; to act with increased understanding, compassion, and respect toward each other; and to call upon the untapped reserves of resilience and resourcefulness that abide in us all.”
Framework developed by the Investor Stewardship Group establishes common set of investor expectations for corporate governance
The Investor Stewardship Group—a group of the largest, most prominent institutional investors and global asset managers investing, in the aggregate, over $20 trillion in the U.S. equity markets—has developed the Framework for U.S. Stewardship and Governance, a “framework of basic standards of investment stewardship and corporate governance for U.S. institutional investor and boardroom conduct.” The stewardship framework identifies fundamental responsibilities for institutional investors, and the corporate governance framework identifies six fundamental principles that “are designed to establish a foundational set of investor expectations about corporate governance practices in U.S. public companies. Generally, the principles “reflect the common corporate governance beliefs embedded in each member’s proxy voting and engagement guidelines,” although each ISG member may differ somewhat on specifics. The ISG encourages company directors to apply these basic principles—while acknowledging that they are not designed to be “prescriptive or comprehensive” and can be applied in various ways—and indicates that it will “evaluate companies’ alignment with these principles, as well as any discussion of alternative approaches that directors maintain are in a company’s best interests.” The framework does not go “into effect” until January 1, 2018, so that companies will have “time to adjust to these standards in advance of the 2018 proxy season,” the implication being that failure to “comply or explain” by that point could ultimately lead to shareholder opposition during proxy season. Check out the countdown clock at the link above!
Do board self-evaluations help produce a high-functioning board?
by Cydney Posner In this paper from the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University, Board Evaluations and Boardroom Dynamics, the authors suggest that board self-evaluations aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. While, based on a recent study, 89% of directors believe their boards have the skills and […]
NACD releases “Critical Issues for Board Focus in 2015”
by Cydney Posner The National Association of Corporate Directors has just released “Critical Issues for Board Focus in 2015.” The issues list was developed following the NACD’s dialogues with a number of major institutional investors and roundtable discussions among investors and committee chairs of Fortune 500 companies. The publication presents […]
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