Approach

The environment you create both physically and emotionally is imperative to how you approach conversations and sessions with the Board.

Choosing your time of day carefully, or thinking where certain people or even you should sit in the Boardroom, whilst offering snacks and drinks before starting are all good ideas. These may seem insignificant, but have a huge impact on the level of engagement received.

Take the lead

Once the environment is right, you can then set the tone of the session for example “here is a starter for ten” or “we are looking for further input” or “we are sharing progress on.” Where ‘we’ implies a greater force than just yourself. Your ambition is to get one of two outcomes; that the Board believes they have either co-created the solution or direction with you or even created the solution or provided direction for you.

Know your audience

Understand the Board, their characters, what is driving them personally and commercially. You may need to behave like a chameleon adapting to their styles.

If for example, you’re working for a ‘Simon Says’ Board member, ideally you need to frame a solution, but not actually talk about a specific solution. Give them the opportunity to fill in the blanks. Once this idea has been spouted, the Board member will take away and believe they were the source, so will back it wholeheartedly.

Subconsciously, they know you contributed and it ‘felt’ good with you there when they came up with the answer. That feeling won’t disappear, so you will be seen as a crucial and positive influence on developing the change.

Quote from the discussion:

“When we work in a crisis, we are at our best, so how do we make this moment feel like a crisis”

What is the best route to take?

There are several approaches that can work with a Board that will convince and then ensure support.

Phrases like; we made a good decision in the past which has paid dividends, now the business, market or world has moved on, we must change too.

Finding the common goal; what vision, outcome or objective will all Board members recognise and get behind. Can you relate their role, one by one to those aims?

Cascading the vision, purpose and goals is paramount. The same language consistently applied and at a frequency that reminds everyone why a change is happening.

In some cases people need to know there is an ultimatum to prevent drag in a change; people will need to decide whether or not they are on or off the bus. This is a very succinct message and at the same time ensuring people know there is an option.

The goal or prize might be huge but it is essential to start small and gain momentum; be prepared to describe what this might look like with each Board member.

Are you listening? No, are you really listening? What are members really worried about and perhaps not saying in words? Be sure you are able to get your point across at the right time only after you are sure you’re addressing their concerns.

If you are not about to address the concern, don’t carry on with your lines. Suspend, offer to come back or ask for other opinions in the room but don’t pretend the concern wasn’t raised in the first place and nor should you address it with waffle. You will gain more trust in taking another approach like those above.

Dispelling the myths; using references or reference sites from competitors or similar businesses and encouraging site visits. There is nothing more compelling than seeing something in action.

Finally, the currency of the conversation should be ‘outcomes’ not activities. This means selling the ‘afters’ first. You can then cover any hurdles and support you can foresee.