Some interesting insights were published on the website of the INSEAD business school, based on a recent study entitled Board Chairs' Practices across Countries: Commonalities, Differences, and Future Trends in which chairs from across Europe (and Singapore) were observed.
How chairs deal with difficult colleagues
Usually someone will take the person in question outside for a quiet word. Or sometimes the board as a whole will try to offer and arrange professional help.
The chair of one British board shared his experience: one of the directors had a habit of talking way too much. During the meetings, someone usually had to say “John, thank you. Now we need to hear from others.” A Belgian chair described how, if one of his colleagues becomes unmanageable, he simply leaves the room.
There are, however, less confrontational cultures, in which people usually prefer to conduct unpleasant talks outside the boardroom. So in Singapore, if there are performance issues or disagreements concerning targets, the entire matter will be discussed only in private, outside the room.
Dynamics of chair-board relationships
Cultural specifics play their part also in this regard. British chairs are very concerned about balance, fairness and transparency. Russians are open to voting, which is in contrast to British, Dutch and Belgian chairs who usually try to avoid voting. They strongly prefer decision based on consensus. Turkish chairs attach fundamental importance to maintaining social relationships.
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