Recent corporate scandals have catapulted boards to center stage. Sarbanes-Oxley has created regulatory pressure for boards to prove they are adequately informed and engaged in the business of the organization. Strong, trusting relationships with senior management are essential. Serving on boards has become much more complex and demanding.

Boards are made up of strangers, each having unique talents and skills to contribute to the stewardship and mission of the organization. Transforming into an effective leadership team is difficult with limited exposure to one another usually in committee meetings. Making plenary sessions worthwhile requires well-crafted agendas and skillful dialogues.

To continuously improve their performance, boards need to articulate their changing work, restructure as appropriate, plan for continuous learning and development, and evaluate group and individual effectiveness.

Dr. Roberts has worked with boards and senior management to clarify the evolving work of the board, custom design and implement a performance evaluation process (surveys and/or interviews), and work with the appropriate committee to craft a three-year board development plan.