Programme Overview
Few things are more satisfying to new board members than the realisation that they have not only made a smart decision to join a board, but that they can immediately begin to make meaningful contributions. And nothing fosters that certainty more than a carefully planned, dynamic and interactive board orientation.
Once an organisation has selected and appointed board members, it is important to on-board them successfully. Unfortunately, many “Board member Orientation” start and end with a tour of the organisation, its key programmes, history, mission and discussion with few top management staff. Whilst this is helpful, it does not sufficiently prepare the incoming board members for the director role they are expected to play.
To maximise impact, aspiring, designated, newly appointed and experienced directors must possess an in-depth understanding of how boards work and what it takes to be a member of an effective, progressive, accountable, responsible, transparent, efficient, coherent and responsive board.
Thus, it is crucially important that organisations and their boards put together robust board member orientation programme to help new board members understand their roles, responsibilities, functions and legal duties, as well as help them understand the board’s culture and dynamics. According to Marcia Shaw (2010), “When you have new directors, the first part of the agenda is helping them understand their role and how the board goes about its business, and helping them get up to speed on current issues facing the board.” This apply to both non-executive and executive directors. The notion that executive directors do not have to participate in a board orientation, particularly when the executive director is appointed from within, because he or she understands the internal workings of the organisation, is both inconsistent with leading practice governance principles and a misconception.
Directorship is not the same as management and the roles and responsibilities of directors are squarely different from those of top management. Thus, all directors should be encouraged and required to attend, even if they think they are not going to learn anything, but for effective integration of new directors into the whole and embedded into the culture of the board.
Programme Objectives
To provide robust, comprehension and leading practice insights into the word of board member orientation. By the end of the programme each participant will be able to:
Understand the legal duties of directors
Appreciate the concept of “director protection”
Learn the proper roles of the board and those of its committees, as well as directors’ role in creating a productive and progressive board
Explore the role of individual directors, as well as the role of the chairman, CEO and the company secretary
Examine board meeting dynamics and board culture
WHY LEISHTON ACADEMY?
We are first a research company, and everything we do, be it training or consulting, is based on research we have conducted ourselves or those conducted by others. So, we do not just train on the basis of emotions. Our training programmes are based on strong theoretical and empirical findings. These findings allow us to provide our programmes’ participants up to date perspective on areas of interest.
In addition, we are locals and we understand the business environment. We have a good blend of both consulting and real-world day-to-day practical business experience in Nigeria. We have folded our sleeves before and we can fold it for you. Indeed, we are not just trainers and facilitators, we have a good understanding of how things are done in practice in Nigeria. We pride ourselves to be subject matter experts (SMEs) in the areas we train on. If we cannot provide contemporary insights and in-depth knowledge on a particular subject area, then we would say it from the outset.
Furthermore, we have developed our competencies in a lot of areas and we can be a one-stop shop for your organisation in terms of consulting, training and research (qualitative or quantitative) in the areas of leadership, governance, strategy, change management, risk management, compliance, AML/CFT (for financial institution), ethics, team functionality, emotional intelligence, legendary customer service, internal control and standard operating procedures (SOPs) development. We also go out of our way to adopt the best model for each training programme we offer and we are even ready to go “Down Under” (Australia) if that is where we will find the best model. Aut Optimum Aut Nihil; this Latin maxim is not just a philosophy to us, we live it.
Finally, we have few partner firms in South Africa that we can occasionally collaborate with in areas where we need additional capacity.
Why Attend This Programme?
This programme gives board members and aspiring board members the opportunity to gain leading practice insights into key areas of focus for new board members. It is designed to promote self-guided discovery by board members.
With this programme, you will benefit from:
Condensed, 2-day board member orientation programme
Proven board orientation strategies to help the newly appointed director understand his or her roles and responsibilities as well as how the board goes about its business
Real-world examples of getting newly appointed board members into top gear quickly