Non Executive Directors – Where to Start?

Every since I became a Chartered Quality Professional and put their competency framework into practice on an organisational level, I realised that a lot can (and should) be done to help businesses develop sustainable success. The sustainable success I am referring to is not better income to the shareholders. The sustainable success means well looked after employees, better aligned supply chain to the core values of the company and the wider society, and the more satisfied customers who keep coming back for products and services.

In order to take Quality to the next level, Quality Professionals have to have presence at Board Level. I have written about my thoughts in a previous post Quality at Board Level. If you are like me, reading this and thinking: Ok, where are we going with this? My answer is: where do Quality Professionals start? How do they pave the way to bring their level of expertise to the board of companies, charities and SME businesses they support?

NEDonBoard is a professional body for NonExecutive Directors in the UK and they offer a MasterClass for NEDs who want to understand all the different areas of governance required by Board Directors. I have registered in this MasterClass and here I am introducing a new series of posts in the world of NEDs – Governance demystified.

Governance is an interesting term. It is so broad, yet it has so much packed into it that applies to a small set of operational activities as well as governing an entire company, charity or a country (if your aspirations are geared in that direction).

Let us start with Governance Definition:

The activity of governing a country or controlling a company or an organization; the way in which a country is governed or a company or institution is controlled
Definition of Governance, Oxford Learners Dictionary (2021)

The definition is a straight forward English language definition. I personally do not like it because I do not like the word ‘controlled’. In the context of organisations and charities, I would prefer the term ‘guided’ or ‘monitored’ or ‘supported to achieve success’.

I digress. Back to the topic at hand. If you are passionate about bringing Quality Competencies to the Board Level, then there are few things you should be aware of to embark on that journey. In 2019, I joined NEDonBoard professional network and started attending their events, talks and networking events. That is the best way to embark on any new journey because networking – in my opinion – is the best way to start forming an idea about something new. Here I am now joining their master class because it offers information on:

UK Companies Act 2006 – General Duties of Directors
Companies Reporting Regulations 2018
Corporate Governance Codes

In the next few series, I will be sharing my learnings in each of the above 3 areas and hopefully provide some practical examples from my own experience. Enter your email below so you get these posts straight into your inbox.