Board Engagement

Achieving effective board engagement can be challenging. It requires fostering open, future-focused dialogue grounded in trust. When this happens, boards become a powerful force—clarifying strategic choices and supporting the work of their executive leadership.

At Odgers, we understand that annual board assessments are a standard practice, often conducted by third parties to ensure governance best practices are met. However, as PwC’s annual survey of board directors reveals, more than 40% of directors feel board and committee assessments are merely a “check the box” exercise.

Typical assessments focus on fiduciary obligations and sound processes and protocols, but they often overlook the art of board engagement. They seldom probe into the strategic rigour and complex leadership dynamics that drive effective board decision-making. While broad assessments are important for general risk management, they don’t emphasize the quality of engagement in the board’s most impactful responsibilities: CEO succession and strategic plan approval.

Odgers offers a comprehensive solution to build meaningful engagement. Our experienced Board Advisors go beyond standard assessments to ensure your board is equipped to navigate critical decisions with strategic insight and robust leadership dynamics—when it matters most.

Key Outcomes of Board Engagement Services

We go beyond the conventional process and protocol improvements that define many traditional board effectiveness programs. Our board engagement services are designed to foster deep involvement and alignment—helping board members and leadership teams achieve high engagement, resulting in:

• Elevated Strategic Oversight: Enhance the board’s collective capability to stress test strategy—ensuring decisions are forward-looking and value-driven.
• Streamlined Governance and Decision-Making: Minimize unproductive divergence and reduce decision-making churn by fostering cohesion and constructive dialogue among board members.
• Strong CEO-board Alignment: Improve strategic alignment between the board and the CEO through improved communication and mutual understanding.

How we help our clients

Tailored to your board’s unique context, our board engagement services enable your organization to effectively navigate complexities, capitalize on opportunities, and deliver lasting results.

We offer three core services: 

• High Value Creating Boards: We help boards move beyond process and protocol improvements to strengthen their culture of discussion and strategic decision-making.
  
  Deliverable: A tailored board development program anchored in the Five Disciplines of High Value-Creating Teams (Hawkins, 2021).
• Board Strategy Engagement: In partnership with the CEO, we facilitate offsites that leverage the board’s diverse experience in testing key strategic assumptions and risks.
  
  Deliverable: A comprehensive and engaging Board Strategy Offsite that lays the groundwork for strategic plan approval.
• Board–CEO Transition: We support the board in navigating CEO transitions before the search and selection process to help them navigate tough trade-offs and set the stage for success.
  
  Deliverable: Targeted recommendations and facilitation to identify and address points of divergence and effectively manage selection dynamics.