Engaging your board of directors without getting fired

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Engaging your board of directors without getting fired

Has your board become bored with CR’s evangelical approach to business and is now seeking to downgrade your company’s involvement? So how do you keep your boss engaged and keep yourself from getting fired in the process?

Here are five things to know before entering the boardroom to help you make a winning argument:

1. Remember the handcuffs:
In 2006 in the UK, the Operating and Financial Review will make it mandatory for executive boards to report future expectations of their business. So board members will be liable for the
accuracy and validity of their financial and non-financial information. If your boss still isn’t engaged, show him a picture of Jeffrey Skilling, ex-CEO of Enron, in handcuffs.

2. Directors Wives Syndrome (DWS):
While many professionals put great support into CR activities, don’t forget the irrational and emotional side. Many charities supported by your organization have the directors’ wives
sitting on their boards.

3. Workers unite:
So much about monitoring and measuring CR activities is about negative issues. Don’t pollute, use unsustainable sources or act unethically are all common mantras. This puts CR practitioners in an uneasy position of being moral arbiters for business. Gain workforce support by placing more emphasis on the good. An engaged and productive workforce can be the last line of defence to maintain your ongoing CR activities.

4. Forget the integrity:
Sometimes it’s more prudent to stay on the right side of key decision-makers in the short term in order to influence long-term gain. Too much integrity can be a hindrance in a cut-throat
business environment. You’re better off in the business making a difference than out of the business with your integrity in tact. Introduce your director to the most influential person you know, make your CEO look good, get positive press coverage and see the difference it can make.

5. Work on mutual advantage:
Highlight the tangible benefit of your CR activities to the board. Tony Hayward at BP recently did in regard to BP’s ongoing CR activities in Russia. The emphasis was on finding a better balance in the benefits of BP’s sustainable operations. If you prove CR improves business efficiency, saves money, provides a legitimate license to operate and impacts the bottom line, there’s no reason to scale it back.

Adapted from “The apprentice: ways to engage your board in CR and not get fired” in the current issue of Corporate Responsibility Management.

Blogged on 3:36 PM by Upay

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