Prior
to Peter Cosgrove being appointed as the Governor General he played a vital
leadership role when we said the following:
“Imagine if hundreds of talented younger female
and male directors had a term with an ASX 300 listed company or large private
or not-for-profit enterprise and worked side by side with Australia’s top
directors. The country’s pool of next-generation directors would be transformed”.
He understood that boards play
an integral role in the success of any organisation and that just as business
needs diversity of talent so do boards.
Like the Governor General we
want to lead a debate about creating diversity on boards.
Our latest book Difference
Makers: A Leader’s Guide to Championing Diversity on Boards seeks to help you join us in challenging the
current thinking about who has the ‘right stuff’ to sit on boards. Difference
Makers provides readers with the latest insights into how traditional approaches to
securing directors who are reliable, like-minded and known entities is not
enough in this volatile, complex, ambiguous and uncertain (VUCA) world and
neither is a narrow interpretation of a directors role.
There are increasing reputational,
legal and compliance risks, and an increasing number of stakeholders who are
scrutinising the actions of boards and speaking out when they don’t like what
they see. This higher-stakes environment is increasingly putting board
composition in the spotlight.
We only have to remember cases like Enron and
James Hardy to realise that board culture and ethics are key characteristics of
effective board governance.
Boards continue to face
ever-expanding agendas, uncertain market conditions, legislative changes,
funding cuts, rapid technology changes and the challenge of complying with
regulations in more and more jurisdictions where their organisations want to do
business. An evolution is under way, and boards now are beginning to realise
that it is the breadth of perspective, not the mere inclusion of various
diverse traits, that benefits the organisation. Not only are directors’
professional skills and expertise coming under more scrutiny but so too is the
mix of ages, gender and ethnicity of board directors.
In building the business case
for board diversity, Difference Makers highlights the national and
international research. Board members
from a range of sectors offer their insights about board diversity and facts
and statistics are used to demonstrate the financial, cultural, customer,
reputational and innovation benefits that are improved through board director
diversity.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Join us in championing diversity
on boards – become a Difference Maker.
Difference Makers re-frames the
debate about who can participate in a board directorship so that differences
are not seen as negatives but as positives. Dr Nicky Howe and Alicia Curtis
share their experience and research on how different points of view and
different experiences can enhance problem-solving and spark innovation; it can
build better boards and ultimately better organisations.
Get
your copy at here. Launching May 2016.