By Lisa Hochgraf
Michael Daigneault told attendees of the CUES Director Development Seminar Wednesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, that the relationship between boards and their CEOs is just like his relationship with his wife.
Daigneault, a senior governance consultant with BoardSource, Washington, D.C., said he and his wife have now been married for 20 years. Before their 10-year anniversary, Daigneault lined up a location, the priest who originally married him, the wedding party and the same band. Three weeks before the event, he invited his wife to renew their vows and she said, "No way."
Daigneault said he and his wife spent the first 10 years of their marriage avoiding conflict so successfully that they didn't authentically communicate. Now, 10 years of marriage counseling later, his wife says she'd renew her vows in a heartbeat.
"Doesn't that sound like CEOs and boards?" Daigneault said. "We're so nice to each other--we're so polite to each other--that we don't have good authentic communication. This is an invitation to put it on the table and have it out."
Boards and CEOs won't get anything done if there's conflict all the time, he said. On the other hand, if there's never conflict, the directors and CEO aren't communicating honestly. The ideal level of conflict is somewhere in between these two extremes.
"Some conflict is unavoidable and good," he said.
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
