What was I supposed to do?

No one told me what a Director is supposed to do when I first joined a Board. I didn’t want to look stupid by asking dumb questions, so I sat back and observed what was happening. It took me a long time, and many experiences (good and bad) to learn.

Years later, I find that things haven’t changed. Most of the new board members I speak with are doing what I did, and dealing with the crises that preoccupy boards that don’t do their job right the first time.

A Different Approach

I’ve found a way to avoid that long and unsure road. It starts by learning Risk Management; it's the basic governance skill supporting everything a director does.

Learning Risk Management gave me the same sense of freedom that I gained from learning how to ski. The first day I went up a chairlift and watched the skiers below me gliding gracefully down the hill, I had no way of knowing the basic skill of shifting my weight over my skis to control my descent. But when I learned how to do it, the mountain was mine.

Risk Management is the basic skill of recognizing red flags, the potential events or situations that could threaten what we want to accomplish. It’s not a mystery. We use it every day. When the forecast calls for rain we take an umbrella. To protect ourselves from a car accident we buy insurance. To protect ourselves from a break-in we install intruder alarms in our homes.

GovernanceTools helps you to use risk management and make risk-sensitive decisions. The GovernanceTools.com© website http://www.governancetools.com/is an open, comprehensive information centre, for Directors of SMEs and not-for-profits. Check it out.

It’s for people like you who want to be better board members; who want to contribute to their communities and the organizations they serve as Directors; people who want to make sure they are not in personal danger of being embarrassed or sued because of a mismanaged board.

This GovernanceTools Blog will share my experiences–and yours–as we perform our roles as Directors, Board Chairs, CEOs, or Executive Directors. Send your questions or add your own experiences to this Blog so all our readers can benefit from them.

I'll be adding more ideas about risk management as well.