Cover Story

Your Board’s ‘Inner Circle’
By Patrick R. Dailey and Charles H. Bishop Jr.
Yes, your board has one — a not-so-secret subgroup of directors who wield extra influence in deliberations and power in decision making. The authors pull back the curtain and shed some light on this special set of board members — their role, the work they do, their success factors, when the inner circle becomes dysfunctional, and whether the inner circle adds value. And what about those in the 2nd ring?

Features

A strengthening nexus: Boards and the CHRO
Look for a company’s chief human resources officer to become a much closer and more highly valued counselor to the board of directors. The times, and the board, will demand it. Hear from three experts:
• Kathy Herbert: What the board needs from the HR chief
• Angela Lalor: HR as a driver of new thinking
• Ian Ziskin: HR’s responsiveness to the comp committee

Leading with EI: A visit with Chad Holliday
Interview by Jack Roddy
What does emotional intelligence look like? Who has it? Even more important, can you succeed without it? We asked, and DuPont’s chairman was game to answer. Also, check yourself on how you match up on EI’s personal competence and social competence domains.

Choose your risk manager wisely
By Thomas Mulhare and Peter Bible
Here is what boards should look for in a risk manager. This template will give you a basis for evaluating what you need from your risk manager — tenaciousness, inquisitiveness, ability to wear many hats — and what your risk manager needs from the board.

Candor and control in the boardroom
By Allan Cox
Here are two tales from the trenches that illuminate the attitude shifts taking place between management and the board. Down with control, up with collaboration: a ‘shifting times’ checklist for the CEO. ‘The board’s job is to stop me from going where I don’t want to go.’

A first step in audit committee effectiveness
By K. Sue Redman
Assess each member as to how he or she would prefer to receive and review information and then customize this information accordingly.

Book it: Best bets for board reading
From a roundup of new books, leadership insights on executive truth telling, incentivizing the sales force, productivity advancements, and negotiation and presentation tactics. Selections include Behind the Cloud by Marc Benioff and The Essential Bennis by Warren Bennis.

Getting the best from directors
By Luke Johnson
‘Directors want to come up with the right answers for the business’: A tip sheet for being a better steward of your board’s manpower.

Departments & Columns

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