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Engaging the board of directors on strategy

Donley Townsend (President of Donley Townsend Associates, LLC, located in Dallas (don@ donleytownsend.com), was a Vice President at A.T. Kearney and held staff leadership roles in Hilti AG, Teradata and AT&T)

Strategy & Leadership

ISSN: 1087-8572

Article publication date: 11 September 2007

2894

Abstract

Purpose

Over the last several years, many corporate boards have sought a more substantial role for directors in the strategy‐setting process. The author suggests a proven system for educating board members about company strategy and gaining a more valuable contribution from them.

Design/methodology/approach

The author offers a five‐point process for effectively engaging a board of directors on strategy that he developed working together with corporate leaders.

Findings

When the CEO thinks through this process and engages the directors, the board and the CEO can enter into a dialogue that leads to collaboration and a greater chance of achieving the goals of the organization.

Research limitations/implications

The author has implemented this five‐step process with a number of boards of directors.

Practical implications

A key beginning point is for the CEO to work out, in collaboration with the chairman and other directors, a year‐long agenda of strategy topics for board meetings.

Originality/value

The five‐step process enables the boards, chairmen, CEOs, and top managers to begin to forge an effective process to engage directors on strategy that will grow stronger over time.

Keywords

Citation

Townsend, D. (2007), "Engaging the board of directors on strategy", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 24-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570710819189

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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