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    Telling the emergent #corpgov story

    Conferences Governance Research Speaking Engagements Strategy
    About three and a half years ago, I had the privilege of listening to a leading thinker speak about some of the problems with boards, board practice and the phenomenon of corporate governance. The comments were as contentious as they were disarming: we don't know nearly as much as we would like to think we do. Further, many of the widely discussed measures (women on boards, board size, an independent chair) provide little if any guarantee of increased business performance.
    My initial reaction was to dismiss the comments. They stood apart from the prevailing opinions of many practitioners and consultants. However, there was something compelling about the the way the story was told. Something made sense, so I dug deeper. Pretty soon, I found myself on the quest that became my doctoral journey, to try to work out how boards can influence business performance in real terms.
    Jun 3–5

    Jun 11–12
    Jun 17–20
    Week 1 Sep
    Sep 8
    Sep 9
    Sep 10
    Oct 29–30
    Nov 12–13

    Nov 23–27
    International Corporate Governance Network  annual conference
    (London, England)
    International Governance Workshop (Barcelona, Spain)
    European Academy of Management conference (Warsaw, Poland)
    * available in UK and Western Europe
    Masterclass: Corporate Governance (venue tbd, Ireland)
    Masterclass: Boards and Performance (Dublin, Ireland)
    Guest lecturer: University of Ulster (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
    EIASM conference (Brussels, Belgium)
    European Conference on Management Leadership & Governance
    (Lisbon, Portugal)
    Reserved for Singapore event and meetings
    (The prospect of some meetings in Australia and the US is being discussed as well, but nothing is confirmed yet.)
    That quest continues today. However, the doctorate is nearly complete so the time to package the learnings (there have been many), tell the emergent corporate governance story and discuss implications for boards and businesses has arrived. To this end, I will be travelling internationally in June (as signalled yesterday), September and November as follows:
    If you want to know more about any of these events, or want me to meet your board or executive team, please get in touch.
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    Paper accepted on Understanding Governance Workshop programme

    Conferences Governance Leadership Research
    I am thrilled to announce that I have been asked to attend and speak at the Understanding Governance Workshop, to be held in Barcelona, Spain, on 11–12 June, 2015. 
    The purpose of this workshop is to bring together leading thinkers to discuss contemporary directions in governance; to challenge the status quo, in terms of how boards work and how research is conducted; and, to give voice to innovative critical research. My paper, entitled "Executive-controlled boards, power and influence: A reality check", fits the second and third categories. Thank you to the Workshop organisers and paper reviewers for considering this contribution worthy to be included on the programme.
    With this invitation, my conference schedule for June is now confirmed, as follows:
    I will be in the UK and EU from 2 June through 20 June, and am available for other advisory, speaking or facilitation engagements between the conferences. I'd be happy to discuss corporate governance, board practice, strategy or related topics; including the results of my latest research. If you wish to take advantage of my proximity, please get in touch.
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    Paper accepted onto EURAM conference programme

    Conferences Governance Performance Research
    I am thrilled to announce that a paper written earlier this year, entitled Boards, strategy and business performance: Observations from inside boardrooms, has been accepted onto the programme of the prestigious European Academy of Management (EURAM) conference, to be held in Warsaw, Poland on 17–20 June. A copy of the abstract has been posted here. Some 1350 papers were submitted for consideration, so to be have been selected and asked to speak at the conference is truly an honour. Thank you to the reviewers and track chair who considered the paper sufficiently worthy.
    This conference becomes the third (of three) that I will be contributing to in June: 
    I will be on the ground in the UK and EU to continue the corporate governance discussion from 2 to 20 June, with some time available between conferences. If you would like to take advantage of my proximity—as a speaker or facilitator, or to seek some advice—please contact me.
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    Oh the demand... 

    Conferences Governance Leadership Performance Phd Research
    Nine business days after arriving in England for meetings and speaking engagements in several English and Swiss cities, I am once more seated at Heathrow: this time to enjoy Air Zealand's service on the long flight home—and to sleep! Reflecting on fifteen meetings, eight hotels and many conversations, the main thought to emerge from this trip is "demand". Simply, the level of interest in boards, board practice and how to get boards doing the 'right' things in order to achieve the business performance outcomes expected by shareholders has been almost overwhelming. For example:
    • Professors from two English universities and one Irish university have offered to organise masterclasses to expedite healthy debate about boards and the difference they can make.
    • Two different groups of people, both based in Zurich, including professorial staff at unisg.ch, have said they want to organise teaching and learning seminars, to raise the bar amongst banks and international businesses.
    • The team at Ethical Boardroom has invited me to provide the editorial commentary for their summer issue.
    • Several (sorry, I'm not at liberty to disclose details) have requested advice on matters relating to board structure, apprenticing, strategy and business performance.
    That so many people are actively seeking help to improve business performance through effective contributions in the boardroom has caught me on the hop. After all, the public persona presented by boards and chief executives is that they have everything under control. However, when the conversation moves beyond platitudes, its seems most are worried. I have put myself at the service of all who are interested. If you would like to know more, or to schedule some assistance, please contact me.
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    ICMLG'15: Conference wrap-up

    Conferences Governance Leadership Management Research
    The annual International Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance is over for another year. The third edition of the conference, in Auckland New Zealand, built on the earlier editions. The two keynote speakers, Phil O'Reilly and Andrea Thompson, were well received. They set the scene for each day nicely. Three strong themes emerged during the conference, as follows:
    • While business researchers are making a contribution, progress is painfully slow—akin to plodding. The gap (probably best described as a chasm) between the academic research community and the business community is far wider than it should be or needs to be. While researchers need to stand somewhat apart from praxis in order to conceptualise new understandings, they need to avoid standing so far away that their work lacks relevance. Pace and relevance appear to be crucial—if research outputs are to be appreciated by the business community.
    • The research emphasis needs to change, from standing outside the subject of interest (the board, the leader, the management situation) and counting things (typically secondary attributes based on pubic data or interview/survey responses), to getting close to the subject in action. This change demands more qualitative research, in search of deep understanding and meaning. While the theme has become increasingly apparent at conferences in the last year, several delegates voiced opinions that a tipping point might be tantalisingly close.
    • Building on this last comment, researchers need to open the black box (of the board, the management team, the organisational situation) and learn what is actually going on. However, this introduces a new challenge, of discernment. Perhaps business researchers need to take the lead shown by the medical and engineering communities (amongst others). Research-capable doctors do medical research and engineers do engineering research. Has the time come for business research to be performed by researchers with real-world business experience as opposed to researchers who have never been inside a boardroom or managed a commercial entity? Many at the conference thought so.
    Some further reflections:
    • The organiser (Academic Conferences and Publishing, based in the UK) and hosts (AUT and Massey) did a wonderful job. Thank you to Louise, Pat, Coral and James, in particular.
    • The quality of the papers presented, and the author presentations seemed to be higher than the two previous conferences. Perhaps the review process worked better, or researchers are self-selecting such that only those with meaningful research submit papers. 
    • The dinner cruise, on Auckland Harbour, was the social highlight of the conference. Delegates from the Middle East and Europe (especially) were effusive in their comments. That Auckland turned on a wonderful evening sealed the deal!
    • In future, ACP may want to consider organising a programme for partners. Around 20 percent of the delegates brought their spouses with them to New Zealand and there was nothing organised for them.
    So, there you have it. The 3rd International Conference on Management Leadership and Governance is over. I look forward to the 4th edition in twelve months' time. The venue should be announced in the next month or two.
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    ICMLG'15: Board roles in SMEs

    Conferences Governance Performance Research
    Wafa Khlif, a Tunisian professor working at a French university in Spain (Toulouse Business School, Barcelona), presented the results of recent research into boards in small–medium enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of the research was to understand how boards work and the role they play in the governance of SMEs. 
    The research suggests that boards perform different roles in organisations, from that of an entirely passive bystander (she uses the wonderfully descriptive term, legal fiction) through effective cooperation to that of a dominant bully. However, most of the research has investigated large and typically publicly listed firms. Precious little research has been published on SME boards, until now. Khlif interviewed 26 directors and chief executives of six Tunisian-based SMEs over a two year period.
    All four of the important roles of boards that had been identified in larger firms—control, service, strategy and mediation—were also apparent in smaller companies. However, no single combination or arrangement of the roles was apparent. As with larger companies, considerable variation in the way boards work, and their purported dynamism and impact on firm performance (as claimed by interviewees), was apparent in the interview data that Khlif and her colleagues collected and analysed. However, some combinations of roles that are more common in larger firms (the watchdog, for example) is not so common in smaller firms (where the owner is more likely to be directly involved as a director and/or a manager).
    The framework that Khlif and her colleagues developed as part of their research shows how the important roles can "fit" together in SMEs, and the types of background factors (firm complexity, ownership span, amongst others) that might influence how the roles are performed are identified. However, the research did not explore the link between board roles and business performance.
    From an academic perspective, this research provides support to the idea that the role of the board cannot be adequately explained by a single theory. It provides strong guidance for practice as well: boards and board situations are all different, so forget about 'best practice' cookie-cutter models. Therefore, owners and boards that ignore the organisational context when boards are being established or reviewed do so at their peril.