Presenting to BoardsPractical skills

Julie Garland McLellan

Presenting to a board is animportant occasion

Only peak performanceWill be good enough!

How not to fail

PrepareKnow what the board

does

How it operates

What it is worried about

Present Pre-reading Participation Discuss don’t debate

Persist Follow up Engage Thank you!

X we are here!

Start by understanding your audience

What the board does

Set strategy

Obtain resources

Ensure risk is managed

Provide accounta-

bility

Hire (and fire)

the CEO

BALANCE COMPLIANCE AND PERFORMANCE

How boards operate

• Joint and several liability:– Equality– Collegiality– Confidentiality– Robust debate– Independence

• Limited engagement with shareholder• Total exposure to management

Address their concerns ...

You need to know:• What most boards worry about• What this board worries about• What each individual director worries

about

What boards worry about

Financ

ial

Gover

nmen

t

Resou

rces

Reput

ation

Strate

gy

Lead

ersh

ip

Compe

titors

Mer

gers

Issue

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

No

of

men

tio

ns

Worries – by sector

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Resou

rces

Strate

gy

Reput

ation

Lead

ersh

ip

Financ

ial

Compe

titors

Mer

gers

Per

cen

tag

e o

f re

spo

nd

ents

Government

Commercial

Not for profit

Gover

nmen

t

Worries – by experience

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

Financ

ial

Gover

nmen

t

Resou

rces

Reput

ation

Lead

ersh

ip

Strate

gy

Compe

titors

Mer

gers

Novice

Experienced

More experienced

Prepare appropriate pre-reading

Relevant

Integrated

In perspective

Timely

Frequent

Accurate

Consistent

Clear

Brief!!!

X we are here!

Context

Legal

Strategic

Preferences

• Australian law• Industry regulations• Trade practices

• Current performance• Competitors• Speed of change

• Personal styles• Company policies• Constitutional choice

The meeting agendaB

oar

d C

on

cen

trat

ion

an

d E

ffo

rt

Time

Significant matters for board consideration

Routine matters

Routine matters

© Julie Garland McLellan 2005, reproduced with permission

Prepare for participation

Dealing with debate

• One conversation• Use a parking lot• Call it if you see it!• Work through the Chairman• Stay positive• Break if the board obviously need to

Balance discussion with structure

• What do they already know?

• What do they need to know before they can discuss?

• What can they find out through discussion?

X we are here!

You only succeed if you make it back out alive!

Follow up

• Summarise agreement or decisions for the minutes

• Agree next steps• Identify any deliverables• Leave them with reasons to come back to

you• A ‘Thank you’ letter never does any harm!

Want more information?

Buy the book at www.amazon.com

Visit www.mclellan.com.auFor information on:• Board performance• Julie’s Newsletter• Director Mentoring• Director Books• Papers

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