How coaching benefits board work – with Chair Helen Wiseman

Learning from experienced Chair & Coach Helen Wiseman

Using coaching for board work can benefit many corporate boards, chairs, board members and management.

 

We are fortunate to learn from the very experienced Independent Board Chair, Non-Executive Director AND Executive Coach Helen Wiseman. Helen works on boards in UK, Australia and South Africa, as well as with leaders and board members all over the world.

Helen is guiding her companies from both char and board member position, and she is helping leaders and board members to become more effective in their roles including using more coaching techniques to achieve it.

Helen is passionate about helping companies and leaders finding their purpose, lead efficiently and guide with storytelling.

The episode is recorded as both an Audio and Video Podcast, and it focuses on Helen’s journey and approaches that she finds effective as a Coach, Chair and Board member.

Welcome to listen and learn about

• A different journey to the chair role
• Why the audit committee role is so good
• About the quality of the question you ask
• A great coaching question in the board room
• About the growth mindset in the board room
• The importance of a clear strategy
• The role of the board director in creating hope

 

Podcast :

 

 

 

 

(you can also find the episode at Spotify, Apple, Google, Overcast, Pocketcast etc)

 

Videolog :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coaching for boards

Using coaching for board work can benefit many corporate boards, chairs, board members and management.

The role of a board is to provide oversight and guidance, not to manage the day-to-day operations of the organization. However, boards can play an important role in shaping the direction of the organization and ensuring that it is achieving its goals.

Coaching is a powerful tool to help chairs, board directors and management to better understand context, clarify their thinking and handle motivations and team dynamics to achieve better and faster results.

The are many terms used for coaching in board context as guiding, sparring, mentoring, supporting, facilitating, asking better questions, providing feedback, leading by storytelling and of course coaching.

Acting on board evaluations

Many boards are used to perform board evaluations, mostly for the board as a whole, and sometimes for individual board members, Chair and CEO. The board evaluations can effectively set you up for better actions and provide good input for any coaching approach.

Many boards are however, not taking enough benefit of their board evaluations, and getting them into structured, appropriate actions. Here coaching is a great tool to transform the result of the evaluations into action.

A coach, chair, or board director with more or different own leadership experience has the additional benefit of understanding context and sharing their own experiences. Its however important to recognize that as potentially involved party it could also bring biased views, jumping to solutions too early or even involve the coaches’ own emotions as they are also dependent on the result.

Boards coaching context

 

 

The coaching in board context can also be applied in many different areas

 

 

Coaching at or from board

• Chair coaching CEO
• Chair coaching the board directors
• Board Members incl chair, coaching CEO and Management
• Board Members incl Chair coaching new board director
• Board members assigned to coach specific executive or top talent
• Independent board director coaching the chair/CEO

External coaching to board

• External Coach, incl more senior chair, coaching the Chair
• External Coach coaching, incl mentoring, individual board members
• External Coach working with the entire board

Conclusion

 

If you’re looking for a way to improve your board work, coaching may be the answer. Coaching can help you learn new skills, develop better strategies, and make more informed decisions. And while it may take some time to learn coaching techniques or get used to working with a coach, the benefits are well worth the effort. So, if you’re ready to take your board work to the next level, consider giving coaching a try.

 

Personal Development For Chairs and Board Members

The Digoshen Team is developing a Personal Development Program for Board Members using the Inner Development Goals as base – if you are interested to know more and you area a board member>>
Sign up for free at Exploring Leaders Board  Community and get access to regular webinars, board content and you will get notified when the program starts

 

Learn More

 

About Helen Wiseman

 

Follow Helen Wiseman on Linkedin >> https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenwiseman/  and reach out if you are exploring the use of a coach for yourself or for your board.

About INSEAD International Directors Board Member Mentoring Program led by Helen Wiseman

Why every aspiring director should consider a mentor

How having a board mentor supports lifelong learning

On Board Dynamics and Coaching

“Positive Board Dynamics and Coaching is Key to Superior Performance” Blogpost,created from a webinar for the INSEAD Directors Network, with Helen Wiseman and experienced leadership and board coach Vincent H. Dominé, facilitated by Digoshen Founder Liselotte Engstam 

The Group Dynamics That Define Well-Functioning Boards Article, by Professor Vincent H. Dominé

Dynamics at Boardroom Level: A Tavistock Primer for Leaders, Coaches and Consultants Book, incl chapter by Prof Domine

Navigating the Human side of Boardroom Interactions Book by Board Coach Thomas Sieber)

Some coaching research and services institutions to follow;

The Insitute of Coaching

Explore The Institute of Coaching  at McLean, Harvard Medical School Affiliate. It is a a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring scientific integrity in the field of coaching. The mission is to disseminate the best coaching science and empower members to catalyze positive change in themselves, theirr community, and the world around them. (Digoshen Founder Liselotte Engstam is a Fellow at the Institute of Coaching). You can also follow IOC at LinkedIn, where they share insights and webinars.

Example insights from IOC

Better conversations (article)

Power dynamic Leadership (article)

 

Center for Creative Leadership

Center of Creative Leadership, CCL is a global leadership development organization

Example insights from CCL

Leadership trust (article)

Embrace flexibility in workplace (article)

INSEAD

INSEAD is a global independent business school and non-profit research institution. (Helen Wiseman is a Board Member at INSEAD Directors Network and Digoshen Founder Liselotte Engstam is a Board Member at INSEAD Alumni Network Sweden, former board member of IDN, and guest faculty at INSEAD Corporate Governance Programs and at INSEAD Nordic IN-Board Program)

Example insights from INSEAD

Coaching a CEO (article)

Your leadership toolbox: A coaching approach (article)

From INSEAD Corporate Governance Center:

Leading a Board: Chair Practices across Europe, (video)

Leading a Board: Chair Practices across Europe, (book)

(Digoshen Founder Liselotte Engstam performed part of the research and is a co-author of the book)

Board Performance an all too human challenge (video)
Leading in wicked times (article)

 

Harvard Business School & Belfer Center

Harvard University is a research University and Non Profit Institution, incl Harvard Business School, Harvard Belfer Center a related think tank and training center. (Digoshen Founder Liselotte Engstam is trained at Harvard Executive Leadership Program including their Program on Negotiation)

Example insights from Harvard

Harvard principles on negotiation, and why principles are better than rules (video)

Collective Leadership (article)

The Leader as a coach (article)

Negotiating with Putin (Video)

When silence is golden (article)

 

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Get more inspiration form other Digoshen Blogposts as

Talents on the Board Agenda and insights by Chair Pia Gideon 

Experienced Board Chair Helen Pitcher OBE, inspiring boardroom excellence

Leading as board director in disruptive times with Håkan Österberg 

Learn from experienced digital NED Denise Koopmans

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This blogpost was originally shared at the blog at the blog of Digoshen   www.digoshen.com,  and at the blog of the Digoshen founder www.liselotteengstam.com

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