A different focus and change of culture are required in many boardrooms to cope with tough economic conditions and enable companies to secure competitive advantage.

Many directors misunderstand their roles. They are obsessed with their own importance and avoid risks rather than create opportunities according to Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas: “Good governance should not be about box-ticking, feeling important and ensuring one’s remuneration is in the top quartile. There is so much more that many boards could do to provide strategic direction and create a better future.”

Coulson-Thomas, author of “Developing Directors”, believes a new approach is required: “Direction is different from management, and the focus of many directors needs to shift from maintaining their status to maximising their contribution. The emphasis should be upon ensuring the success of the company and the right board can massively improve the prospects of an enterprise.”

The professor who is himself an experienced director examines the approaches of directors to determine what the more effective board members do differently: “Greater self-awareness, humility and questioning are often linked with better performance. Good directors assess their own performance and collectively they put more effort into key activities such as understanding developments in the business environment, visioning and differentiation.”

According to Coulson-Thomas better boards can distinguish themselves and secure competitive advantage during an economic downturn: “In boom times even indifferent companies find opportunities. When the going is hard, and while others batten down the hatches, good directors do more than just cut costs. They focus upon key corporate activities such as bidding, pricing, account management and purchasing. They ensure critical success factors are in place in these areas and that members of important work groups have the support they need to excel.”

Coulson-Thomas believes policy shifts in the boardroom can have a profound impact upon a company’s future and corporate culture: “How a board handles risks is critical. The traditional approach involves checks and reviews which cause delays and increase costs. People focus on compliance rather than customers. Building checks into processes and support tools can prevent errors, lower costs, boost performance and free people to quickly produce bespoke responses.”

A focus upon certain key activities is vital. Coulson-Thomas finds: “Many boards devote great effort to improving performance in areas that are not important to customers or contributing to the ‘bottom line’. They give insufficient attention to activities that really matter and ensuring essential success factors are in place.”

The role of board chairman is crucial. Coulson-Thomas explains: “An effective chairman ensures directors are competent and a board is effective. Individual and collective performance should be regularly reviewed. Directors should be asked what they would like more of or less of to add more value. Good chairmen recognise that while having the right board and committee structure helps, corporate performance reflects the behaviour of directors - what they do in and out of the boardroom.”

Directors of over 4,000 organisations from smaller firms to major corporations and public bodies have participated in Prof. Coulson-Thomas’ research programme which identifies critical success factors and successful approaches to the challenges faced by directors and boards. His books “Developing Directors” and “Winning Companies; Winning people” set out the different approaches of those who are most and least successful. Both are published by Policy Publications and can be ordered from: https://www.policypublications.comand https://www.coulson-thomaspublications.com.

Twenty five courses for directors and boards on particular activities that are vital for corporate success are also available. For details visit https://www.adaptation.ltd.uk. Further information can also be obtained from Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas via https://www.colincoulson-thomas.com.

Details of critical success factors for key corporate activities that have been identified by Prof. Coulson-Thomas’ research programme are set out in 20 reports published by Policy Publications. Full details can be found on https://www.policypublications.com.

Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas, an active consultant and experienced chairman of award winning companies, is the author of ‘Developing Directors’, ‘The Knowledge Entrepreneur’, ‘Developing a Corporate Learning Strategy’ and ‘Winning Companies: Winning People’. He has reviewed the processes and practices for winning business of over 100 companies, helped over 100 boards to improve board and/or corporate performance, and spoken at over 200 national, international and corporate conferences in 35 countries. He can be contacted via https://www.colincoulson-thomas.com or https://www.coulson-thomas.com.