Does the Board Want a Strong CEO?

The Board of one Texas organization ran all aspects of its operations.  Formed by a charismatic founder, the Board stepped in when the founder was no longer able to continue.  As the competitive landscaped changed, there was no one with the authority to make the difficult management decisions for the organization and it began to falter: memberships dropped, excitement waned, and infighting about an impending crisis grew.   The Board knew it needed strong leadership and hired a new CEO who immediately began charting a bold, new course.  However, Board members who may have disagreed with a specific decision began to call into question the CEO’s authority to make any decisions of significance.  These Board members felt that all decisions of any consequence had to be made by the Board itself.  The CEO became frustrated and the Board grew fractious. The Sandbar Group assessed and situation and presented its finding to the Board with recommendations for how to empower the CEO while strengthening the ability of the Board to set direction and provide appropriate oversight.  The Board agreed and spent several meetings developing a clear understanding of governance principles as well as the policies necessary to create a clear, usable governance framework. Once in place, the Board officially adopted the governance policies and began functioning with a higher degree of oversight and clear lines of authority and accountability.  The CEO knew what was expected of him, what he was to achieve, and what was considered “out-of-bounds.”  The Board was able to focus on the strategic needs of the organization, setting the priorities for what would make it successful.  The organization chose a bold new plan for restructuring that has returned a sense of excitement and vitality to its work.

The organization is responsive; the Board is strategic; and the Executive is effective.