Podcasts

In this podcast we are talking to Sharon Constancon, CEO of Genius Boards, about leadership in the boardroom.

In this podcast, Sharon Constançon discusses different tactics a company secretary or governance professional can use to help their board identify any unaddressed issues that are making it ineffective. Once it has been identified, Sharon outlines tactics to address and overcome the elephant in the room. The conversation covers how to get the unspeakable topic on the table, how to address disputes and bullying among directors and how to make sure critical risks are really being addressed. It looks at how the company secretary or governance professional can empower the board through coaching directors and facilitating governance improvements on behalf of the chair.

In this podcast Sharon Constançon, CEO of Genius Boards, discusses how to address issues that are impeding board effectiveness that aren’t always easy to identify. Sharon likens the scenario to an octopus, where all the issues are linked to a common cause, represented by the head of the octopus. She goes on to outline how enhancing the emotional quotient (EQ) of the company secretary, the chair and the individual directors will allow the board as a whole to defuse those hard-to-identify issues it faces and allow it to achieve its full potential.

In this podcast, Sharon Constançon explains how company secretaries and governance professionals can use their communication skills to improve the effectiveness of the board, creating the perfect environment for decision-making. Sharon outlines how company secretaries can learn communication skills as part of their career development and how they can use them to handle a range of difficult conversations. She describes tactics for tailoring communication styles to individuals to ensure the message is best received, enabling company secretaries to build trust while remaining authentic and allowing them to be a confidante for the directors. Sharon argues that communication is most effective when we take a caring, empathetic approach that acknowledges the human side of our colleagues and the challenges they face.

In this podcast James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses the boardroom of the future. He considers how its directors will use what are currently emerging technologies to fulfil their duties and carry out their responsibilities more effectively. James contemplates the potential for improving board effectiveness through using virtual assistant technology or chatbots in the boardroom, as well as taking into account the potential risks this functionality poses. James believes today’s boards are ready to embrace technology but warns against solutions for solutions’ sake, highlighting that the use of technology shouldn’t be at the expense of overall board effectiveness.

In this podcast James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses stakeholder capitalism and its significance for businesses today. He argues that stakeholder engagement is the means by which to achieve stakeholder capitalism because it allows the business to understand different stakeholders and therefore act in their interests. James argues that the convergence of many monumental events over the last two years has brought stakeholder capitalism into the limelight and front and centre for boards. He outlines innovative methods for engaging with two important stakeholder groups: customers and employees. James argues that organisations need to develop more sophisticated data points for understanding stakeholders, focusing on qualitive rather than quantitative data to bring stakeholder experiences to life.

In this podcast, Sharon Constançon, CEO of Genius Boards, describes company secretaries and governance professionals as wise owls in the boardroom who use their influencing skills to defuse tension and allow conversations to remain logical and constructive. Sharon highlights the power of the innocent question to cut through tension and explains how to negotiate successfully with warring parties to regain harmony. She argues that having a wise owl on the nominations committee can help achieve a more balanced board that is fit to address the modern agenda. Sharon also explains how to recognise and address bias in the boardroom and how doing so can help address infighting and groupthink.

In this podcast Susan Stenson, a partner at Independent Audit, discusses the impact that environment, social and governance (ESG) issues are having in the boardroom. She outlines the importance of linking these areas back to the overall purpose and strategy of the organisation to enable directors to understand which issues they should focus on and how they should communicate their approach to their stakeholders. Susan outlines how governance lays the foundations for a strong response to ESG issues from boards of directors. She also argues that if the board is honest about how it has decided its ESG priorities, its approach is much more likely to be successful.

In this podcast Sharon Constançon, CEO of Genius Boards, offers advice for company secretaries and governance professionals on managing the challenges they face in their role, from gaining feedback and stretching themselves to learning tactics to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Sharon advises compartmentalising the noise of the role to gain control of it. She describes how to handle the inevitable left hook and the value of being the trusted expert who absorbs panic rather than creating it. Sharon highlights the power of conversation initiated by the governance professional to fix a broken relationship, as well as discussing how to own up to a mistake and how to avoid being seen as a ‘blocker’.