2019
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Many observers have been vocal in their perception of a decline in director quality in recent years. According to the 2019 PwC Corporate Directors Survey, 49 percent of US directors say one or more fellow board members should be replaced, and 23 percent say two or more should go. These numbers are up from both…
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Higher education has become an increasingly litigious environment in recent years. You needn’t look any further than recent Chronicle of Higher Education headlines to understand why: “Michigan State’s Ex-President, Who Faces Criminal Charges, Will Retire with a $2.5 Million Payout,” “U. of Southern California Doctor Is Accused of Sexually Abusing 48 Patients,” “Strikes at Colleges…
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Building Better Boards: Taking the Long-View of Director Succession [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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1 min read
When it comes time to fill an open spot on the board of directors, it’s far too easy—and far too common—for directors to fall into the trap of short-term planning and “who do we know” candidate identification. In recent years, companies have improved with regard to thoughtfully identifying and recruiting senior leaders who are best…
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What the Board Wants to Know: Answers to 12 Common Questions [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
The Expectations of Public Company Directors Continue to Rise and the Work is Increasingly Challenging As the business world becomes more complex, organizations are becoming harder to lead and manage, with scrutiny from investors, regulators, shareholders, activists and the media on the rise. There are growing expectations that directors will more closely oversee areas that…
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“Are You Coachable?”: Lessons from a Trillion Dollar Coach [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
For many leading Silicon Valley executives, Bill Campbell was a not-so-secret weapon—a trusted advisor who made them household names, even if his own name was virtually unknown outside the Valley. Campbell—who passed away at age 75 in 2016—was a successful college athlete turned professional football coach, first at Boston College, then at Columbia University. After…
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Going for Gold: Global Board Culture and Director Behaviors Survey [Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance]
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2 min read
Based on our experience working with hundreds of boards each year, we know board and director performance depends on the quality of board leadership, the ability of the board to focus on the right issues and a small number of critical director behaviors. Our latest research backs this up. The link between critical director behaviors…
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Going for Gold: The 2019 Global Board Culture and Director Behaviors Survey [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
Based on our experience working with hundreds of boards each year, we know board and director performance depends on the quality of board leadership, the ability of the board to focus on the right issues and a small number of critical director behaviors. Our latest research backs this up. The link between critical director behaviors…
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As 2018 comes to a close and 2019 begins, five senior leaders at Russell Reynolds Associates reflect on the global and regional leadership trends they see emerging or accelerating in the coming year. I had the pleasure of assisting Clarke Murphy, Constantine Alexandrakis, Patrick Johnson, Matthias Oberholzer, and Patrick L. O’Brien with this piece, which…
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Insight on Demand: The Opportunities and Challenges of Advisory Boards [Russell Reynolds Associates]
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2 min read
At some point, nearly every corporate board will face the same existential crisis: Should the board only include executives with high-level general management and strategy experience – or should it be filled with individuals who have deep expertise in key priority areas? This debate has been bubbling for more than a decade. What began with…
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CEO misconduct, be it personal misdeeds, illegal business practices, violations of ethical norms, or something else – seems to be in the news more often these days. And when a CEO misbehaves, the entire company suffers. The organizational consequences of CEO misconduct are significant. Researchers at Stanford University have shown that when a CEO is…