Alignment Across the Board

With just two weeks until we kick off our Chair & Non-executive Director Retreat 2023, focusing on the theme of ‘Strategy Through a New Lens’, we thought it was a great time to revisit our most recent research with non-executive directors.

One topic which will undoubtably be high on the agenda for many Chairs and NEDs is alignment, particularly with Boards facing significant challenges in the year ahead.

In our NED Research, 67% of NEDs said there is full alignment between the Chair, CEO and CFO on strategy, plus NEDs and CEOs are both confident in the abilities of the senior team to drive business model transformation. However, this does still leave a third (33%) who feel there is not full alignment around the boardroom table.

Alignment is never more important to the success of a business than through times of disruption and uncertainty. Over the last three years, Boards have faced immeasurable challenges. Staring with the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently war in Europe, inflation, rising interest rates and a cost-of-living crisis.

With recessionary pressures creeping into 2023, supporting the CEO and executive team is even more crucial. Boards needs to maintain alignment at the top table, otherwise they will struggle to keep up with challenging times ahead.

Building alignment as a NED is also critical to creating an agile organisation. Aligned Boards can make decisions more quickly and are also more adept at having honest and open conversations, and a shared strategy for the business’ future.

We’re looking forward to discussing more about how the Chair and NEDs can ensure the Board is aligned in uncertainty at our Chair & NED Retreat in February. During our session on ‘Alignment in a Time of Uncertainty,’ we’ll be exploring how to encourage openness and challenge, overseeing and linking Committees, when standard practice becomes dysfunctional, supporting the CEO and executive team, and responding strategically to a new economic landscape.

Back to our research, Chairs and NEDs told us where they most needed to improve was seeking inspiration and fresh thinking from other sectors. At the Retreat we’ll welcome leading, global executives from a wide variety of organisations and sectors to share insights, stories and support each other in their roles.?

For more information about the Chair & NED Retreat, as well as our NED Membership, visit: https://www.criticaleye.com/inspiring/non-executive-membership.cfm or get in touch with our team here: https://criticaleye.com/inspiring/contact-us.cfm