Now is the time to ensure your Board brings it’s A Game!

The last few months have been a rollercoaster……things seen a Hollywood blockbuster are now accepted norms and we have adapted in ways previously unthinkable.

On Sunday the Prime Minister outlined the way we will restart our society and economy . Even those of us with a large dose of optimism bias can see its going to be a tough old journey back – if we can get back. What is certain is different challenges will occur as new normal becomes…. well normal.

What is also clear, the next stage in this fight is for business and this means boards will be at the vanguard of bringing their organisations out the other side. Now more than ever there is a need for effective board leadership.

Looking as the scale of some of the challenges is daunting. When you consider that there are 6.3 million people furloughed under the Job Retention Scheme. According to a British Chamber of Commerce Survey in April, a staggering 7 out of 10 firms have staff furloughed so it doesn’t take a genius to see that bringing businesses back on stream is not as easy as locking them down and let’s be honest, that was hard too!

Since the start of the crisis, we at Curium have been running a Resilience Tracker, gauging the mood of business and their leaders as events unfold. At the start, staying connected was paramount as everyone adjusted. It is still relevant as people consider bringing their workforces back, but the focus has shifted to the future - how to survive and dare I say, thrive. This means looking beyond the current horizon.

Our findings show that business is firmly thinking about how to move forward; 14.7% investing in new systems, 11.7% investing in product development and a resounding 35.2 % investing in new business strategies and new markets.

A case of optimistic bias?

No. It’s evidence that Boards are looking at how to transform and adapt for the new norm.

They may be cautiously concerned but there is a quiet optimistic confidence. Navigating a crisis means a board needs good communication, a clarity of purpose with focused effort and a recognition things will probably need to permanently change so an open mind comes in handy too. Adding in emotional intelligence, bravery as well as living your values differentiates good board leadership.

Without these things well the job is hard – maybe even impossible. So this is the time for a long hard look in the mirror and around the board table – do you have what it takes?

At Curium we know it’s hard; that’s why we do what we do – we work with boards to get them to be the most effective they can. Now and in the future. This is the difference between not only surviving but thriving.……..

After all, Darwin famously said “it’s not the strongest of the species that survive nor is it the most intelligent, it is the most adaptable to change”

All my blogs are available at: https://curiumsolutions.com