Leading the Way: Keeping your board on point

Working with a board of directors helps drive strategic organizational growth and performance.

But the success of organizational leaders often depends on how well they manage and balance the direction of that board with the ongoing needs of the organization - its employees - and those of the customer.

And sometimes the needs of these three groups can be divergent.

A few local business leaders ascribe to the following three best practices to manage and balance their respective boards of directors with organizational needs:

1.  Clearly establish and agree to shared vision and goals for the organization.
2.  Be deliberate and focused in decisions, communications and actions toward these shared vision and goals.
3.  Above all else, be firm in your commitment to the customer.

Larry Jansen, the new CEO for Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co., based in Grinnell, explains his approach this way: “Early on, I established three priorities for the organization - invest in technology; grow revenues; and place an emphasis on strategic employee development.

“I've been very clear with the board and the organization about these priorities. All our efforts tie back to these priorities, and the company and board have rallied around these directives and are collectively supportive.”

Jansen says that a board should be strategic and leave the day-to-day operations to the organizational leader.

“If leaders don't get shared commitment from their board toward strategic organizational vision and goals, then board members may overreach to micromanage some of the day-to-day operations. When this happens, the effectiveness of a leader is compromised.

Deliberate and focused communications reinforces company priorities and direction. So if board members or employees stray, a leader can legitimately refocus efforts back to the vision and goals.

Bruce Lehrman, CEO of Involta, a data services company in Cedar Rapids, reinforces company vision and goals by “celebrating wins and milestones” as the organization makes progress toward these goals.

However, the real challenge comes when a board member departs from shared goals and the best interests of the organization and/or customer. In this instance, leaders must demonstrate courage to stand up for the principals and underpinnings of the business vision and goals.

In addition to consistent, deliberate and firm communications to keep the board focused and aligned, a leader can validate this approach by measurable results to include employee satisfaction and profitable growth.

To this last point, a successful leader ultimately should stay focused on customer needs, desires and trends.

“Customers drive our decisions as well as industry growth and change,” according to Jay Beck, president of Robinson Rubber Products Co. in Minneapolis, Minn. “They pay our bills, keep our lights on, and help our company to stay relevant, our products useful, and our business profitable.

“As president, it's my job to manage, balance and align our board and our organization with customer needs and desires, and keep the customer at the forefront for all of our strategic discussions, decisions and operations.”