 Taking a Structured Approach to Board Succession Planning
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 A subject on which we have been asked to advise on increasingly in recent years is board succession planning. Given the performance pressures on boards it is a very positive sign that organisations are becoming less inclined to leave board composition to chance. We would argue that taking a deliberate and structured approach to director succession planning is as important in organisations where boards are 'elected' as it is in those where they are 'selected'. This article is in two parts to reflect the different challenges of these two situations.
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Getting On Board - The New Director Induction Process
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 In the many board effectiveness surveys we have undertaken over the years, the quality of board induction processes has invariably been rated poorly. Other research we have undertaken suggests that, regardless of sector or type of organisation, the 'average' new board member takes about 2 years to feel fully competent in the role and comfortable in the position. This suggests that too many boards to take the process of getting new members 'on board' less seriously than they should.
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What's So Hard About Saying 'No'? Revisiting Limitation Policies
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 Over the last 20 years my colleagues and I have assisted many clients to develop delegation frameworks based on what are often referred to as 'limitation' policies. Rather than traditional prescriptive policies that tell chief executives what they can or, more often, what they should do, limitation policies are proscriptive.
They say what the chief executive can't do
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Is It Time to Rethink the Chief Executive's Report to the Board?
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 Many chief executives complain about their boards. They use terms like 'meddling' and 'crossing the line'. They also lament that their boards spend too much time in the detail and are not strategic enough. While boards are susceptible to these behaviours, a quick look in the mirror is likely to help these chief executives find the principal source of their problem. The answer will frequently lie in taking a fresh look at how they are reporting to the board. In particular, they should focus on the type of report that they make personally to the board. The potential to engage in a powerful dialogue with the board is seldom realised.
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