Boards That Lead
Boards That Lead advocates a new governance model—a sharp departure from what has been demanded by governance activists, raters, and regulators—and reveals the emerging practices that are defining shared leadership of directors and executives. Based on personal interviews and the authors’ broad and deep experience working with executives and directors from dozens of the world’s largest firms, this book tells the inside story behind the successes and pitfalls of this new leadership model. With a total of eighteen checklists that will transform board directors from monitors to leaders, Boards That Lead provides a smart and practical guide for business people everywhere.
“Boards That Lead provides the essential road map for corporate leadership. With gripping accounts and compelling illustrations, Charan, Carey, and Useem show how directors can lead in strategic partnership with company executives. This is a game-changer, required reading for all who seek to bring out the best in their boards.”
— Alan Mulally, CEO and President, Ford Motor Company
“This book shows how, through leading, partnering, and delegating, boards are now starting to shape the architecture of the company in unprecedented ways. This book is rich with stories—there is nothing like learning from three world-leading practitioners on advancing board capabilities to get the company to raise its game.”
— Fred Hassan, Managing Director (Healthcare), Warburg Pincus; Chairman and director, Bausch + Lomb
“Boards That Lead offers an illuminating road map for how a board of directors can effectively engage and motivate its corporate management team to successfully navigate even the most complex of situations. This book should be on the ‘must-read’ list of every corporate board member and senior executive.”
— Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President and CEO, TIAA-CREF
“This research, complete with compelling anecdotes and practical information, brilliantly explores how creative, flexible, and innovative processes provide the foundation for long-term, sustainable partnerships between the board and the companies they serve. This work captures the true innovation intended to guide the leadership mandate for any board.”
— Ivan G. Seidenberg, former Chairman and CEO, Verizon Communications; former Chairman, Business Roundtable
“Boards That Lead is chock full of real-world examples that directors can use to improve their leadership and decision making—an impressive one-stop shop outlining board member roles, responsibilities, and actions, including the boundaries that boards and companies often fail to recognize. The checklists for putting this advice into action are comprehensive and practical— the best I have seen.”
— Maggie Wilderotter, Chairman and CEO, Frontier Communications; director, Procter & Gamble and Xerox Corporation