Date: September 8^th to September 29^th (4-week course)
Location: Online
Time: Noon - 1:30pm (ET), every Thursday

Running meetings is challenging!

Juggling the personalities around a boardroom or committee table is always tricky, especially when seeking the best course of action on a critical decision. At the end of the day, you all wish to be good stewards of your organization, so how do you bring unity to your purpose and your results? This 4-week program is for board and committee chairs and directors who want to be more effective in the role of chair. Most boards and committees have largely succeeded in defining the structure, charter, roles, and responsibilities, but culture and behaviour are at least as important to effective functioning.

You may already know what message you need to convey, but are you familiar with the techniques required to deliver it to a board or committee with varied learning styles, temperaments, and agendas? That’s why we have “Peter” joining us to help you!

The Art & Science of Being a Chair gives you the opportunity to practice new skills through interactive simulations (check this video) and breakout groups. With instant feedback from your peers, a skilled facilitator, and experts in boardroom functioning, you will leave with a greater sense of your capacity for this challenging and rewarding role.

The Science is easy, the Art is not!
Did you know that the #1 reason Chairs fail is that they have not mastered the art of their position?

It’s true! The main reasons Chairs struggle are:

• They are uncomfortable with dissent and difficult conversations.
• They don’t know to facilitate dialogue, build consensus, and reframe complex discussions.
• They don’t know how to relate and work with different personality types.
• They don’t know the best techniques to accelerate change.
• They don’t know how to use the science of chairing in an artful way!

The good news is these skills can be learned! You will:

• Learn how to identify and work with different personality types and problem-solving preferences, including understanding and recognizing how each is motivated and inspired in different ways.
• Gain insight into the science of chairing meetings, including the timing of meeting leadership, from dealing with dissent to knowing when to call for the vote.
• Learn how to deal with under-performing board members.
• Avoid pitfalls in director peer evaluation and the performance evaluation of the CEO.
• Learn techniques for building consensus, resolving disputes, and leading change.

Schedule:

September 8^th | The Role of the Chair in the Governance of the Organization
We will discuss the role of the chair and its unique challenges – both art and science!

September 15^th | Personalities: Recognizing and Working with the Four Main Types
In this session, you will learn why the Chair needs to know the personality types of every director and person on the senior leadership team. And, you will learn how to assess their primary type in moments by answering 2 simple questions! You will also take part in a highly interactive workshop to practice this new skill in the context of the annual director peer evaluations.

September 22^nd | Leading Difficult Conversations
In this session, you will take part in an in-camera meeting to discuss a performance issue with respect to the CEO. This interactive workshop will give you a chance to practice chairing and leading a difficult conversation in a virtual meeting environment.

September 29^th | When to Call for the Vote
In this session, you will take part in a workshop when you will be part of a board faced with deciding about 2 differing options. Will they move forward with a strategy to merge with a larger company or will they move forward with an aggressive acquisition strategy? Decide for yourself when to call for the vote.

Worried you’ll miss a session?

Replay videos, as well as supplemental handouts and presentations, are available via your materials page for a minimum of one year!

Cancellation Policy: The registration fee is non-refundable for cancellations made less than 30 days prior to the program’s first live session. In this case, you may either transfer your registration fee, once, to a similarly priced seminar future training course, or arrange for a substitute person to attend. Those who do not cancel and do not attend are responsible for the full registration fee. Governance Solutions reserves the right to cancel or reschedule and will give notice in advance.