Setting the Field Recap

Fresh from batting practice at the networking social the previous evening, delegates got to see where the professionals ply their trade, with the day’s proceedings taking place overlooking the home of Yorkshire CCC on one side with Leeds Rhinos’ stadium on the other. Sandwiched between was our home for the day, the stage set for a mix of insightful panel discussions, first rate presentations and practical case studies. 

The conference theme was one that is pertinent to all of us in one way or another. For individuals, organisations and the sector, change is a fact of life. Whether this be the natural ebb and flow of business or fortunes, shocks from dramatic external events, the challenge of doing more with less or the advent of new technologies, the ability to respond and adapt is key to performance. 

The day kicked off with a welcome from Linda Ford, the new chief executive of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland, followed by a tour of the latest SGA impact assessment report – on which, more soon. 

Boardroom dynamics

The packed programme began with Alison Gill from Bvalco sharing her thoughts on the interplay between governance, boardroom behaviour and boardroom dynamics. She differentiated between behaviour and dynamics, with the latter something that is sensed, based on how people feel and directly linked to energy and the quality of decision making.  

Drawing on her experience from the sport, public and corporate sector, Alison shared her High Performance Board Behavioural Framework as well as examples of attributes of successful boards, such as a strong sense of individual responsibility among directors, facilitative chairs, quality board papers and a shared humility or lack of ego. A quality board, Alison explained, offers constructive challenge delivered in an empathetic, supportive environment. She then walked the audience through some of the work of Alan Watkins, encouraging boards to spend more time in the anabolic state produced by positive emotion and away from negative emotions which induce a catabolic state and yield poor decisions. 

AI in action

Next, Barry Wade shared with the audience some of the work Paddle UK have been doing to implement digital solutions. He first addressed the key issue of organisations’ eagerness to adopt an AI-first approach given the tools that are constantly being marketed at them – AI FOMO. His suggested first step was to ask a simple question: what is the problem you’re trying to solve? This sounds obvious, but its answer determines the potential solutions. And artificial intelligence might not always be the right one.

Barry then talked us through a case study where AI was the solution: Paddlebot, Paddle UK’s tool to help website users access the correct information for their queries, free up staff time and provide out of hours guidance for key stakeholders. He shared practical steps, key considerations and safeguards, as well as the impact of implementation, before taking questions from an audience keen to learn lessons from a clearly well thought out, successful example.

Rethinking resilience

Central of course to the theme of adapting to change is the ability of individuals, teams and organisations to show resilience, a much cited but often poorly understood concept. Dr Mustafa Sarkar’s presentation sought to address some of the misconceptions around resilience. He challenged the notions that resilience is about the ability to endure (or even suffer) or to respond to crisis. Rather, it ought to be seen as an active, ongoing, dynamic process which develops the ability to maintain functioning under pressure and capability to successfully deal with change. 

For Mustafa, resilience is nurtured in the environment set by the organisation. Citing a memorable analogy, he drew our attention to the need to “think like a farmer”: not blaming the crops for not growing; but creating the conditions for them to thrive. One such condition was suggested as being a facilitative environment, a blend of high support but high challenge. In this environment, a key role is played by psychological safety. Again, Mustafa dispelled conceptual myths, pointing out that psychological safety is not the same as a safe space. Instead, it should be seen as a “brave” space where people feel comfortable to speak and where leaders are emboldened to show vulnerability, seek and value feedback and get to know the person behind the ‘performer’. 

Leading with humanity

After lunch, Noo Jones offered an intriguing counterpoint to the morning’s discussion of AI. In an engaging and interactive session, Noo focused on leading with humanity in an increasingly digital age. She identified some of the attributes that technology does not bring to the table: empathy, creativity, strategic thinking. Setting the audience to work in groups, Noo encouraged them to think closely about the interplay of consistency and adaptability in their organisations. We critically assessed the positives that they bring about, the negatives when they’re overplayed and examined what drove the tendency to polarise the two qualities. 

After bringing the group back together, Noo took us through how what others experience of us is driven by our identity and mindset and how this impacts the organisation. In putting too much emphasis on consistency or adaptability, we create tension within the organisation. By creating tools to support the operation structure and systems that do some of the work for us, we are better able to make sense of our lives and strategically realign to achieve our purpose.