{"id":3889,"date":"2018-04-26T07:46:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T11:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=3889"},"modified":"2018-04-26T07:46:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T11:46:26","slug":"the-future-of-trust-and-good-governance-ten-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=3889","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Trust and Good Governance: Ten Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last week the spring issue of TRUST! Magazine was published by Trust Across America-Trust Around the World (TAA-TAW). This special 10th anniversary issue, coauthored with Bob Vanourek, a former corporate CEO and cofounder of Triple Crown Leadership is called Building Trustworthy Organizations: The Role of Good Governance.<\/strong><\/em><\/a> Having polled almost two dozen lead directors, Board members and governance experts, Bob and I asked three survey questions. The first two were:<\/p>\n

What does\/did the term \u201cgood corporate governance\u201d mean to you?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

What are\/were some of the key governance practices you find\/found most useful to good corporate governance?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The third question was:<\/p>\n

What are some suggestions you have for <\/em>improved corporate governance in the future?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While the magazine contains literally dozens of responses and ideas, the following are ten recommendations regarding the Board in general:<\/p>\n

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  1. \u201cUnderstanding and practicing good governance is not a skill set listed when looking for candidates to nominate for election to a board\u2014it is important that good education is provided for new and current directors on the tenets of good governance which are publicized by the company.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cGood governance is enhanced with high levels of trust among board members, good communications between directors and senior management, a solid internal auditing function, and a reliance on competent outside counsel.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cGreater gender, ethnic, age and geographic diversity.\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cDefine \u2018cognitive diversity\u2019 and integrate it into the board search process.\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cFewer sitting CEOs as directors and limitations on how many boards their own CEO may sit on.\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cA board that is deeply engaged with each other, the CEO, and leadership team.\u201d<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cYearly review by the board of recommendations from the various stakeholders for changes and additions to governance policies and procedures.\u201d<\/li>\n
  8. “Closer attention to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance). In 2017, ExxonMobil faced a 62 per cent proxy vote for stronger climate change disclosure. Expect ESG to become a standard proxy concern for major shareholder groups.”<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cEnsuring a constructive, trustworthy tone at the top among board members and senior management, personally modeling appropriate behavior.\u201d<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cStrive to lead in the spirit of trust to make things better now and for the future. Their goal is to leave the organization better than when they found it.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Building trustworthy organizations is, indeed, an essential element of good corporate governance. As one of our wise respondents said of board members,<\/p>\n

    \u201cAs stewards, they strive to lead in the spirit of trust <\/em><\/p>\n

    to make things better now and for the future. <\/em><\/p>\n

    Their goal is to leave the organization <\/em><\/p>\n

    better than when they found it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Last week we also introduced TAP, our Trust Alliance Principles. They are available (in 5 languages) by tapping the button on our home page<\/a> or to the right of this blog.<\/p>\n

    We hope these two new resources will help organizations build trust. That has remained the mission of TAA-TAW since it’s inception 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

    Barbara Brooks Kimmel\u00a0is the CEO and Cofounder of\u00a0<\/em>Trust Across America-Trust Around the World<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0whose mission is to help organizations build trust. A former consultant to McKinsey & Company, she also runs the world’s largest global\u00a0<\/em>Trust Alliance<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and is the editor of the award- winning\u00a0<\/em>TRUST INC.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0book series. In 2017 she was named a Fellow of the Governance & Accountability Institute, and in 2012 she was recognized as one of \u201c25 Women who are Changing the World\u201d by Good Business International.\u00a0She holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and an MBA from Baruch at the City University of NY.<\/em><\/p>\n

    For more information visit our website at www.trustacrossamerica.com <\/a><\/p>\n

    or contact barbara@trustacrossamerica.com<\/a><\/p>\n

    Follow us on Twitter @BarbaraKimmel<\/a>\u00a0and @TapIntoTrust<\/a><\/p>\n

    You may also join our Constant Contact mailing list<\/a>\u00a0for updates on our progress.<\/p>\n

    Copyright (c) 2018, Next Decade, Inc.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

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