Many owner-managers associate board work with formal meetings, minutes and large companies. Something that does not fit into a busy SME's everyday life.
But in practice, it is often small and medium-sized companies that have the most to gain. A board of directors gives you a space where you are not alone with the decisions that have the greatest impact on the company's future.
The board is also sparring
A board of directors is not a control body that points fingers. A good board of directors is a team of experienced sparring partners who help you make better decisions – before they become expensive.
This is where you get qualified feedback on your ideas, new perspectives on your business, and someone who dares to ask the questions you might be putting off - and who helps you stay focused on what's really moving.
Help to see your business from a helicopter perspective
The board creates value because it forces you to look up. When everyday life is filled with operations, customers, and firefighting, it's hard to see the company from above.
The board of directors gives you, as owner-manager or director, a better basis for your decisions. They should help challenge and set direction for visions and strategy and strengthen your opportunities to develop and operate in the right direction.
That helicopter perspective is difficult to create alone, especially when you are part of the operation yourself.
Find the right skills and the courage to be challenged
However, value only arises if the right skills are around the table. A good board is composed based on the needs of the company – whether it is about strategy, growth, management, market or technology. Here, the diversity of experiences and perspectives helps to sharpen the decisions.
A classic mistake is to choose the easy solution when putting together a board. Family and close relationships can feel safe, or board members who are similar to yourself, but they rarely provide the counterbalance that creates development. A professional board requires members with experience, relevant skills and the courage to challenge you and support you – even when it is difficult.
You gain new perspectives on growth and development
The board of directors should be close to the business, but not involved in operations. In order to contribute, it must know the company down to the core, and this requires openness from you as the owner-manager.
Roles and responsibilities are clear: The board helps with what and why. You are responsible for how. The board does not take control away from you – it helps you manage better.
When board work works, it strengthens both strategy and decision-making, provides new perspectives on growth and development, makes the company more robust and professional, and increases the company's value.
In short, board work is about taking your business seriously.
Therefore, establishing a board – or professionalizing the one you already have – should be a priority. Both to give you the opportunity to raise your profile and because you don't have to be alone with the most important decisions.
An intensive board course
Have you considered a professional board of directors in your company? Or do you have a board from which you would like more input?
Billund Erhverv offers an intensive board course for anyone who has – or dreams of having – experience with board work. The course is offered in collaboration with Laura Vilsbæk, who teaches at several board education courses, works on six boards in the SME segment and runs Nyibestyrelsen.dk.
The course runs over two days: Wednesday, April 15th, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday, April 29th, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
