Family business boards provide ideas, insight and accountability for the future.
Effective governance is at the core of a truly sustainable family enterprise. Established family businesses find that the guidance, direction and feedback gained through an active Board of Directors is an invaluable contributor to strong strategic planning and productive family relationships.Through board development, evaluation and search, our consultants guide families through the process of assessing their needs, planning changes to their governance structure, and ensuring that the board they create provides true value.
Board Development
Creating your first family board, or evolving it to be its most effective.
At the heart of family business success is a governance process that evolves and adapts to the changing dynamics of the family, the ownership group and the management team as these groups themselves evolve. Board development is a purposeful process of advancing the structure and function of the board of directors.
Our fully integrated approach is designed to support the success and longevity of your family business that can include:
- Formalizing board meetings and management reporting protocols.
- Integrating independent advisory or fiduciary board members.
- Creating charters, role descriptions, and other governing documents.
- Defining and constituting effective committees.
- Enhancing board deliberation on strategic questions.
- Preparing family members and independent directors to be effective board contributors.
Board Evaluation
Ensuring the board continues to contribute at the highest level.
How do you maximize the quality of the board’s contribution? Board evaluation is a systematic method for collecting feedback about the focus and function of the board. Regular evaluations can improve engagement from both the family and independent directors.
Our team works with functioning boards to collect feedback and insights on opportunities to improve engagement, management support and shareholder relations.
Board Search
Finding and selecting qualified candidates that fit your family, business and culture.
We maintain a network of qualified independent director candidates for family firms and assist families with the selection and placement of directors. Our process begins with clarifying the board’s strategic needs, development of the board prospectus, help with the interview and selection process, and the referral of qualified candidates. Learn more about our unique approach.
According to our research, family businesses with independent representation on their boards reported a much higher level of board effectiveness than respondents with no independent directors. And reported effectiveness increases with the amount of independent representation.
Adding independents increases board value for leadership.
Type of Board and Percent of Sample Rating Their Board Effective
Family-only board
Two or more independents but NOT a majority
Majority Independents
Adapted from Pendergast, Jennifer, John Ward, and Stephanie Brun de Pontet. Building a Successful Family Business Board: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, 17-23.)
Chair and Director Development
Adapting to new roles and building key competencies for the boardroom.
The transition from executive to director can be challenging. Effective directors must learn new boundaries and determine how to effect change and accountability from outside the management structure.
Board service also requires distinct interpersonal skills to maximize board relationships, reinforce accountability and remain a resource to management and ownership. Individual coaching and development can be useful for the family business chair, new family directors and independent directors to help them navigate this new role and build competencies that can magnify their impact on the board and the business.