The Board of Directors is by nature an essential meeting for the company. A true guardrail of decisions taken by shareholders, it validates the company's major strategic decisions.

Therefore, for its proper functioning, it is important to establish a conducive and methodical environment so that all participants collaborate effectively.

The support of a board of directors meets 4 needs:

• Be and act as an administrator.
• To be and act as chairman of the Board of Directors.
• Have an effective board of directors.
• Interacting with General Management.

Each need corresponds to a method of support and specific tools.

Be and act as an administrator

Whatever the Board of Directors, being asked to become a director of a company is always a sign of recognition and “prestige” but accepting a mandate as a director means making a commitment to work at the service of the company, without counting your time.

This new responsibility must be approached with seriousness and professionalism.

Our support formats:

• Individual or collective coaching on the rights and duties of an administrator.
• Coaching/simulation with the support of a movie.
• Coaching “feedback on mandate”.

To be and act as chairman of the board of directors

It is important to distinguish, on the one hand, the nature of the power of a Chairman of a Board of Directors and, on the other hand, the role expected as a session chair.

To assume the role of “session chair”, it is necessary to master the following 4 behaviors:

• Camera operator: for the smooth running of debates (time management/punctuality/management of topics on the agenda/fluidity, etc.).
• Facilitator: so that everyone can express themselves (collegiality/avoid “the stowaway” /distribution of speaking time, etc.).
• Agitator: to provoke “devil's advocate” (constructive contradiction/debate/expression of doubts, etc.).
• Catalyst: to refocus the debate and decide (summary after each topic/validation and vote if necessary, etc.).

Our support formats:

• Individual coaching — Replace president with “chairman.”
• Presence of the coach on the Board of Directors as an observer.

Have an effective board of directors

Bringing competent and willing people together on the Board of Directors does not guarantee its proper functioning because multiple biases can hinder their interactions.

To reduce their effects, an approach exists: create a conducive and methodical environment for all participants to collaborate effectively.

Our support formats:

• Assessment with questionnaire and qualitative interview.
• Sequence of formation of the group that forms the Board of Directors.
• Coaching over time of the group that forms the Board of Directors by having, among the members of the group, a dedicated interlocutor (SPOC).

Interacting with senior management

To establish certain collegial checks and balances, the two most famous bodies are the Management Committee (Codir or Comex) and the Board of Directors (CA).

While the first is composed of company managers, the second can welcome representatives of shareholders or staff but also independent external directors.

Their good understanding is a guarantee of the smooth functioning of the company, their disagreement is a source of dysfunction and inefficiency.

Our support formats:

• Coaching of members of the Codir, with the presence of a member of the Board of Directors (SPOC).
• Structuring a file to be presented to the Board of Directors.
• Simulation of a presentation of a file.
• Codir posture: transparent, patient, modest.
• Board of Directors posture: confident, helpful, diplomatic.