Developing a reputation as a trusted advisor is crucial to becoming an effective governance professional.
On 17 October, we were delighted to launch our Building Your Governance Career event series. This series has been created for graduates, new associates and those starting their governance careers. The first event focused on steps to take for success and featured a mixture of panel sessions and talks on topics ranging from preparing a great CV to developing your professional network.
The day started with our very own David Mortimer, Head of External Affairs, discussing the value of the governance professional and reiterating the new definition that we launched earlier this year. The talk highlighted the findings from CGIUKI’s research project into the relevance of governance professionals in the modern working world. If you haven’t already, I would recommend reading the report from this project. Described by one attendee as ‘a brilliant encapsulation of where the profession is today’, it’s available to download from the CGIUKI website. In addition to providing analysis of how the role of the governance professional is changing, it might also prove useful to any members who are grappling with how to describe their role to friends and family – something that is often mentioned as a challenge by those working in the sector.
The issue of building understanding of the governance role also came up in the session on how to become a trusted advisor. Panellists including Alia Fazal ACG, Head of Corporate Governance at BP plc, Robert Lyons, Head of M&A, Corporate Services & Deputy Company Secretary at Marks & Spencer Group plc – and former winner of the CGIUKI Company Secretary of the Year award – and Victoria Hart ACG, Group Company Secretary at TP ICAP Group plc didn’t all agree on how one should go about explaining the governance role to colleagues. Alia’s description was more conventional, placing the company secretary or governance professional ‘at the top of the organisation, working with the most senior stakeholders and acting as a central point in the web of connections between different functions.’ Whereas Robert’s response – which was greeted with some amusement – was that governance professionals should leave the explanation of the role to the Institute. He went on to say that governance professionals can let their work speak for itself and, over time, stakeholders will come to understand more about the position.
When I caught up with Victoria after the event, she told me that a lot of the time, she and her team end up fielding questions that are nothing to do with them because colleagues aren’t totally sure what the team does. She also noted that that’s not necessarily a negative thing, explaining that governance or secretariat teams often end up having a more overarching view of the organisation than colleagues working within specific functions, putting them in the perfect position to point people in the right direction with queries. While this might feel like extra work, it can help with keeping track of what’s going on and contributes to building internal relationships. Alia also reflected the role of the governance professional ‘joining the dots’ within the organisation which places them in a unique position when working with colleagues and boards.
Why trust is important
This unique position makes trust a crucial ingredient in governance professionals’ working relationships. It is particularly important when you consider that they need to be privy to confidential projects, conversations and meetings. If board members don’t trust the governance professional, they won’t feel confident to have frank conversations in meetings, which could lead to more ‘offline’ discussions that can erode transparency.
Alia mentioned that it’s not just about being invited to the meetings that you need to attend – it’s also helpful to be included in broader conversations which can help to build your knowledge and understanding of what’s going on across the organisation. Victoria echoed this when she recommended that governance professionals should make time to read papers for all the committees, not just the ones that they look after. Once again, professional curiosity was highlighted as a key attribute of governance professionals.
While it’s clear that trust is essential, it needs to be earned. Being authentic is part of this and is perhaps even more important when things go wrong and you are at risk of damaging what had been a trusted relationship. In the session, the panellists recommended that, if you think something might be going off track or realise that you’ve made a mistake, early and honest communication is key to damage limitation. No board likes surprises so make sure that any issues are flagged and try to avoid the unexpected in meetings. Share information in advance and, if necessary, have conversations with relevant people ahead of time to make sure that they’re as well informed as they can be.
How to build trust
Building trust is also about nurturing relationships continuously so that you build familiarity and a reputation as someone who can be relied upon. This can be achieved through small actions that have a big impact. Alia included examples such as creating the opportunity to spend time with board members by travelling to meetings with them, getting to know their preferences so that they’re comfortable in meetings and responding to requests quickly. All of these things will help to paint a picture of you as someone who is on the ball and paying attention to the details, which will build credibility and should mean that when a thorny issue comes up, your opinions and advice are seen as valid and valuable.
So much advice was shared in this one conversation, let alone across the whole day, that it’s impossible to cram it all into one article. Equally, given the breadth of topics covered, we know there’s a lot more that we can delve into. Supporters of the event, EY, noted that the number of delegates and the level of engagement from the audience demonstrated a real appetite for these kinds of events, which is why we’re excited to have already started planning the next one. It will focus on how to be a trusted advisor and will take place in London on 16 February 2023 between 08:00–10:00.
Find out more about Building your governance career - How to be a trusted advisor and book your place.
If you are an early-career governance professional and you have ideas about what you would like to see included at one of these events, we want to hear from you – please get in touch.