Chairs and CEOs play a key role in developing a culture that supports high performance.
By Deedee Myers, Ph.D., MSC, PCC
More and more boards are proactively discussing how they can become high performing boards. An important step for boards on this path is creating a “culture of inquiry." A culture of inquiry encourages curiosity and engagement, and includes gathering relevant information and increasing knowledge across the board room. In such a culture, equal access to this information and knowledge is provided in real time to all participants in support of a rich and deliberate dialog. A culture of inquiry is built on trust--both among directors and between the board and the credit union. Trust is the result of everyone involved striving to align spoken words with relevant and effective action. A culture of inquiry requires proactive dialog, rather than a happenstance loose, unsystematic method of communication. With this kind of culture as foundation, all board members move in mutual commitment. Notably, building the needed trust can be a challenge for several reasons: Your board meets only once a month; not everyone attends all board meetings; and there are multiple perspectives, spoken or unspoken, that must be reconciled. The chair and the CEO need to embrace the idea that they are the culture shapers at the credit union. They need to work together to make sure a culture of inquiry is built at the board level and emanates through the entire credit union. I have seen separate board and staff cultures in some credit unions, which, realistically, becomes a strain to manage when the two are not in alignment. Board culture is founded on the values and beliefs that govern board behavior. If actions by certain board members are not aligned with board standards, the chair is responsible for facilitating a courageous conversation to seek realignment. For example, when one board member uses loud and abrupt language, the CEO and other board members may not openly oppose and offer their perspective. If the chair doesn’t take appropriate action, the membership is ultimately deprived of a high performing board, which is not acceptable. Similarly, the CEO needs to create a culture among the CU’s staff that builds trust, promotes the generation of ideas, innovation and dialog, and brings out top performance from employees. Aligning the chair and CEO as culture shapers is a strong foundation for success in building and sustaining the kind of trust that encourages rich and robust dialogue, powerful questions, and provocative visions for the future of the organization.
Deedee Myers, Ph.D., MSC, PCC, is CEO of CUES Supplier member and strategic provider DDJ Myers, Ltd., Phoenix. Learn more about DDJ Myers' offerings with CUES. Read two other recent CUES Skybox posts by Myers: “It’s a Board Choice: High Performing or Not?” and “Know Your Rubber Band.” Myers will be among the executive coaches working with participants at CEO/Executive Team Network, Nov. 8-11 in Scottsdale, Ariz. An interactive brochure is now available! Specifically designed to strengthen the bond between CEOs and chairs, CUES Symposium: A CEO/Chairman Exchange is slated for Jan. 31-Feb. 4 in Maui.
