Dealing with tricky board members

Many finance leaders struggle to build strong relationships with one or two board members.  These people are typically outside of the management team and are likely to only be involved in the business on a part-time basis, for example in NED roles.

They are unlikely to be aware of everything that is happening with the company and will probably be from different backgrounds with varying perspectives.

In such scenarios, there is an inherent risk that these individuals may be surprised by elements of your finance leader Board report and could react unfavourably, in a potentially disruptive manner.

During this video extract from a GrowCFO workshop, experienced CFO and professional mentor Paul McKoen provides some perspectives on this:

Here are some top tips from Paul regarding how to deal with tricky Board members:

1. No surprises: Never take people by surprise as this will increase the chances of obtaining pushback and may prompt silent assassins to undermine you.
2. Difficult subjects: If you feel intimidated by somebody on certain subjects then think about why.  Try to have offline conversations with them to gain their perspectives and work out how to better present things.
3. Communicate early: Discuss any new items with people in advance of the Board meetings.  Obtain people’s input before sending out your Board papers and make their opinion feel valued so that they support you on such matters during the Board meetings.
4. Plan ahead: Obtain people’s buy-in to difficult conversations a few months in advance.  If you need approval for certain decisions by fixed deadlines, then mention them in earlier board meetings to give yourself plenty of time to gather people’s views and respond accordingly.  Avoid pushing urgent matters onto people.
5. Manage expectations: Anticipate people’s mindset and expectations of progress against specific projects, targets or strategic objectives.  Communicate regularly and highlight any anticipated issues as soon as possible, along with mitigation plans.  Avoid acting defensively as this can often make the situation worse.

Assess your skills

Do you have any Board members who you find tricky to deal with?

How have you tried to overcome your challenges with them?

Have you tried each of the above suggestions and how well have they worked?

What else could you do to strengthen your relationships with these individuals?