Setting up a Board Matrix

Just like in life, a good fit in partnership makes the working relationship practical. Good Boardroom chemistry for organizations that get it right is intentional, designed, and well thought out. Organizations have quotas they may need to adhere to like diversity measures. However, a synergistic dynamic in the boardroom if professionally design can deliver beyond compliance. The extent that an organization goes through to find talent for its operations, best be stepped up when it comes to the Boardroom, specifically Non-Executive Directors.

To design a value-enhancing Board Matrix it must consider the skills, experiences, and personality of its future candidates. Organizational cultures are carried in their people. The symbiotic relationship between an organization and its people feeds forward and backwards and ultimately to the value it stands for.

Non-Executive Directorship is a position of service. Its impact is measured by the sustainable value the organization can show for it. The skills set that each Director brings serves the organization better if it is complementary to the requirements of the organization. The benefits are enjoyed by the organization when the complement also flows across to the fellow directors.

A Board Matrix is created before a call for board member nominations is made. It is done considering the personality of the Lead Executive; Chief Executive Officer or Managing Director. In an organization where the Managing Director is the Founder, the design of the Board Matrix may seem easier, however caution must be given to the Managing Director to not be swayed to personalities that are easier to work with, at the expense of rigorous engagement that edify the organization itself.

Current, future realized and future unrealized value, is the main driver of Board Decisions. A Board Matrix that is set before any board role is predicted or named has a better chance of being impartial and astute. The considerations of skills, ability and personality must be decided by what the entity needs, rather than what is norm.

In the Covid-19 Pandemic, most organizations moved their operations, to an extent that it was possible, to online platforms. This presented new risks that may not have been a priority to the organization. In filling in the Board Roles, organizations sort to consider the skills, abilities, and personality of each placement as a potential fit into the organizational culture.

The design of an entities Board Matrix should be aligned to the culture of the organization, and what legacy the organization desires to create or keep. As much as someone's bad reputation can damage the profile of an organization by association, so can a bad Board Placement, living a negative legacy that may bring to question the integrity of an organization.

If designed consciously, a Board Matrix can be a tool to drive the tone of leadership and culture of the organization.

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