{"id":3031,"date":"2015-11-24T09:22:12","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T14:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=3031"},"modified":"2015-11-24T09:22:12","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T14:22:12","slug":"build-trust-12-board-of-director-tips-for-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=3031","title":{"rendered":"Build Trust: 12 Board of Director Tips for 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A spate of corporate crises<\/a> in 2015 have only served to fuel the long-term fire of low organizational trust. Under the theory that trust starts at the top and trickles down, we asked our Alliance Members <\/a>and Top Thought Leaders <\/a>how Boards of Directors can be the catalyst to drive organizational trust in the right direction in 2016.<\/p>\n

Our readers will find twelve suggestions below:<\/p>\n

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Boards must replace fear with trust:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A trust-based culture increases morale, productivity, innovation, speed, agility, pride in the workplace, value to the customer and sustained high performance.<\/p>\n

Edward Marshall, The Marshall Group<\/a><\/p>\n

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Boards must widen the scope of their membership:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Diverse boards bring different and new types of expertise and perspectives, increasing the range of topics discussed, and most important, encouraging open, candid and provocative discussions.<\/p>\n

Nadine Hack, beCause Global Consulting<\/a><\/p>\n

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Boards and CEOs must be proactive:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Boards can and should lead certain functions for the firm from defining the desired culture to involvement in strategy development. They should not be passive monitors.<\/p>\n

Bob Vanourek, Triple Crown Leadership<\/a><\/p>\n

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Board members must have authentic conversations:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

They must be provided with sufficient information; a safe space that protects privacy and rejects behaviors to intimidate, ridicule or insult; and enough time to explore systemic issues without jumping to conclusions.<\/p>\n

Alain Bolea, Business Advisors Network<\/a><\/p>\n

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Boards must avoid entrenching polarized attitudes:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Boards must have synergy. Look for warning signs in communications including \u201cwe versus they\u201d or \u201cif only we can get them to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob Whipple, Leadergrow<\/a><\/p>\n

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Board members must ask the tough (ethical) questions…and act on the answers:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Tie compensation and bonuses to ethical leadership metrics as well as financial performance.<\/p>\n

Donna C. Boehme, Compliance Strategists<\/a><\/p>\n

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Boards must demand management accountability:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Mission, purpose, values, culture, strategy, business model and brand must be thoughtfully defined, activated and aligned to create a coherent whole.<\/p>\n

Roger Bolton, Arthur Page Society<\/a><\/p>\n

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Boards must align their business agenda with societal expectations:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Board members must have an unmistakable sensitivity to the societal issues of the day. Capabilities must be aligned to build a better world AND a better company.<\/p>\n

Doug Conant, Conant Leadership<\/a><\/p>\n

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Boards must\u00a0speak with candor:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The canned, compliance-approved double-talk and corporate window dressing must be replaced. It is, at best, a short-term unsustainable business strategy, and hiding behind philanthropic efforts simply doesn\u2019t work. Boards must build cultures of authentic long-term trust, practice it holistically, and regularly communicate it to all stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Barbara Brooks Kimmel, Trust Across America<\/a><\/p>\n

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Boards must kill the evening before dinner:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Instead take a small group of front-line or mid-level employees to dinner in an informal setting without the presence of other corporate executives.<\/p>\n

Robert Galford, Center for Leading Organizations<\/a><\/p>\n

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Board must understand their organization\u2019s relationship with their stakeholders:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Take surveys, monitor social and legacy media, and share information across the organization; track the emotions of issues, events and topics, follow changes in the environment; engage and address concerns.<\/p>\n

Linda Locke, Standing Partnership<\/a><\/p>\n

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Boards must develop their own crisis plan:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Enumerate what kinds of actions will be taken for different issues, their crisis strategy and who will be designated to play \u201cfirst string.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davia Temin, Temin and Company<\/a><\/p>\n

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What would you add to these recommendations? Drop me a note at barbara@trustacrossamerica.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Dozens more suggestions like this can be found in Trust, Inc: A Guide for Boards and C-Suites<\/a> and in our brand new 2016 annual poster Weekly Ideas That You Can Implement to Build Trust<\/a><\/p>\n

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