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Key insights
- In a committee, a choice doesn’t end with approval. You do not get the reassurance of execution, just the responsibility of watching the implications unfold over time.
- Boards are sometimes asked to approve decisions involving efficiency, but efficiency has a habit of externalizing its costs.
- Control and responsibility should not the identical thing. A board is less about owning the whole lot and more about ensuring the health of the organization.
- Some of a very powerful decisions made in a boardroom include slowing down, selecting to not push, and selecting to simply accept pressure moderately than react to it.
Most of my skilled life at Kowloon Motor Bus CompanyI sat barely away from the motion. I used to be involved in firms without running them each day and that modified me. When you are not the one doing things, you lose the comforting illusion that you just’re on top of things. This is initially worrying. Over time it can change into clearer.
When you sit on a board you have got to look at decisions being made. They do them in quiet rooms after which live with the implications long after the papers are filed. This distance permits you to learn things which are difficult to learn when you find yourself in the course of the machine.
Here are five things I learned from this position.
1. Decisions don’t end at the top of the meeting
When you run a business, there may be a natural feeling of closure once a choice is made. You move on to the subsequent problem. You do not feel that relief while you’re sitting on a board.
I remember agreeing to what appeared like a wise operational change. The data was solid. The proposal had been rigorously crafted. Nobody had strong objections. But months later, I noticed subtle changes – not within the reports, but within the atmosphere. The conversations became shorter. Tensions spread to places where that they had not existed before. None of it was dramatic enough to cause alarm, however it was there.
If you do not control execution, you are forced to keep on with your decisions. What looks tidy on paper can behave completely otherwise in real life. In a committee, a choice doesn’t end with approval. It stays. You should not given the safety of execution, just the responsibility of watching the implications unfold over time.
2. Efficiency often hides its true costs
Boards of directors are sometimes asked to approve decisions that involve efficiency. Cost savings. Optimization. Better use of talent and resources. On the surface, this all seems reasonable.
However, efficiency has a habit of externalizing its costs. You may not see them immediately, but eventually they are going to show up as burnout, turnover, or declining service quality.
One discussion particularly sticks in my mind. One proposal promised clear savings, but only through continued pressure on frontline employees. It wasn’t unethical or reckless, just barely enough to risk tipping the scales. Sitting on the board gave me the chance to ask a matter that rarely comes up in a deck. How long can people tolerate this before something gives?
Research conducted by the OECD on high-performance work systems this pattern shows clearly. Productivity gains achieved without adequate worker support often disappear over time. Boards of directors are capable of discover these risks early, but only in the event that they are willing to look beyond the numbers.
3. Human decisions are never just procedural in nature
From a distance, human affairs can seem administrative. Appointments are approved, promotions are announced, and various transitions are managed. And there are guidelines that cover most outcomes.
An experience taught me otherwise. A senior colleague who was clearly having problems was checked. Performance dropped and tension began to affect the team. The easiest option would have been to let the formal process take its course and keep the conversation under control.
Instead, we addressed it earlier and more openly. We listened rigorously and spoke directly about what wasn’t working, with care and respect for the person concerned.
Nothing about this decision improved short-term metrics, but its impact was immediate. The meetings became more open. Concerns arose earlier. People spoke more freely because they saw that difficult situations were being handled fairly.
Research Psychological safety research conducted by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson shows that teams perform higher when people imagine they’re being treated fairly, especially in difficult situations. Boards of directors shape this culture greater than they often realize.
4. Control and responsibility should not the identical thing
Sitting on a board taught me to stop confusing control with responsibility.
I never desired to be CEO. I knew early on that I used to be neither suitable for finance nor for day-to-day business. What I could offer was continuity, communication and a visual commitment to the individuals who made the organization work. Sitting on the board allowed me to do that without pretending to be someone I wasn’t.
This shift changes the way in which you define success. It’s less about owning the whole lot and more about ensuring the institution stays healthy after you allow.
Research in long-standing family and infrastructure firms supports this approach. Organizations that survive across generations are likely to consciously and early on separate ownership and management. Guidance takes longer than control.
5. The silent decisions are those that last
The most vital decisions made in a boardroom rarely seem vital at this point. They are rarely dramatic. More often it’s about slowing things down, selecting to not push, and absorbing the pressure moderately than reacting to it. These decisions attract little attention but quietly shape culture, trust and stability over time.
Boards are in a singular position to make these decisions because they’re somewhat faraway from urgency. This distance is just not a weakness. That’s the purpose. Looking back, the selections I’m most pleased with are those that allowed things to proceed working without noise or disruption, even when nobody was watching.
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Key insights
- In a committee, a choice doesn’t end with approval. You do not get the reassurance of execution, just the responsibility of watching the implications unfold over time.
- Boards are sometimes asked to approve decisions involving efficiency, but efficiency has a habit of externalizing its costs.
- Control and responsibility should not the identical thing. A board is less about owning the whole lot and more about ensuring the health of the organization.
- Some of a very powerful decisions made in a boardroom include slowing down, selecting to not push, and selecting to simply accept pressure moderately than react to it.
Most of my skilled life at Kowloon Motor Bus CompanyI sat barely away from the motion. I used to be involved in firms without running them each day and that modified me. When you are not the one doing things, you lose the comforting illusion that you just’re on top of things. This is initially worrying. Over time it can change into clearer.
When you sit on a board you have got to look at decisions being made. They do them in quiet rooms after which live with the implications long after the papers are filed. This distance permits you to learn things which are difficult to learn when you find yourself in the course of the machine.
