Governance

Artificial intelligence has become a common feature of the workplace. McKinsey found that 88% of organisations regularly used AI in at least one business function by the end of 2025. This was up from 78% a year previously.  However, only a third of companies have begun scaling AI across the entire business, despite 64% confirming that it has enabled innovation. One reason for this could be that the rise of AI has been rapid and, although it brings multiple benefits, there are also risks inherent with trusting large language models, machine learning and smart automation platforms with complex and impactful...

Good governance is essential across the private and public sectors to ensure that organisations meet the needs of their stakeholders, create momentum to reach their goals and maintain compliance with the legislation that relates to them.  This is why leaders in charge of guiding private and public institutions must understand the principles of good governance. This article explores what these principles are and how you can implement them to drive your organisation onwards.  Key takeaways Principles of good governance  Transparency The Council for the Defence of British Universities published a 2024 report on “University Governance: Views from the Inside,” in...

With the honour of becoming a board member comes great privilege and responsibility. However, in some cases, board members may tarnish the reputation of a business with their actions, act unlawfully or simply not fulfil their obligations. In such cases, and in the absence of them volunteering to leave, you may want to remove a board member respectfully.  Get the Board Meeting Template Kit Meeting agenda, annual plan, board resolution and more templates to use in your meetings Download templates Interestingly, PwC asked board members whether they believed that at least one member of the board that they’re on should...

Given the turbulent time the world has been through in the past few years, good governance could not be more important for businesses. You need to be sure that your leadership team has the tools in place to navigate the turbulent waters of pandemics, energy crises, inflation, social activism and much more. This good governance checklist is designed to help you implement best practices for leading your organisation with integrity and transparency. One of the biggest challenges to boards is understanding the shifting governance landscape. In Gartner’s Board of Directors study in 2022, 64% of directors reported that they would...

Good board members are always open to learning more about topics relating to the governance of companies. Lifelong learning enables individuals to hone their skills and remain current to keep up with the shifting corporate landscape. In addition, it makes sense to open your eyes to opposing viewpoints and theories that you might not have considered. Literature is one of the best ways to shift your perspective, and this article explores the best books on corporate governance.  Why read books on corporate governance? Whether these books validate your current position or challenge it, you can gain great insights by listening...

“Trust is like the air we breathe. When it’s present nobody really notices, but when it’s absent, everybody notices.” – Warren Buffett The responsibility of the executive director (or CEO) and the board of directors is, ultimately, to drive the business forward. Ideally, they would be focused on generating revenue and profit for private companies as well as driving donations, fundraising activities and operations for nonprofit organisations.  While the CEO and the board have shared long-term goals, sometimes they can disagree or miscommunicate and relationships can suffer. In these situations, strengthening the relationship between the board of directors and the...

“The board’s role is to pull management out of the trees to see the forest”  — Pearl Zhu Directors should have their eyes on the organisation’s strategy. They should oversee the execution of that strategy and make sure that managers can see the bigger picture.  But how do you hold the board of directors accountable? And how do you quantify what they have achieved? With managers, it’s easy. There are concrete targets to meet and specific projects to carry out. But directors’ to-do lists are much more fluid and their achievements are sometimes realised in the long term, making it...