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The hygiene factors of governance

After more than two decades in high profile media leadership positions Joan Withers shares with Her Magazine the ‘hygiene factors’ of governance roles.

Of course these have been qualities the Auckland based former Fairfax CEO has mastered over many years but she now sees these as essential for any senior leader to succeed in any governance position.

“Once you get into senior roles things like time management become hygiene factors,” Joan explains. “You absolutely have to be able to manage time, technology and as you get older, your self-awareness. More and more boards are conducting externally facilitated board performance reviews that gives you a very good 360 perspective on your strengths and weaknesses. It’s an incredibly constructive experience. You must be welcome those sorts of reviews because we want to be the best we possibly can be.”

Joan understands that business has become, over the past 20 years a lot more complex with the rate of change increasingly hugely. This introduces yet another principal that is essential to master to be successful at the top.

“In order to cope and thrive in this environment people have to be able to adapt to change. There are very few people going into their careers now who will stay with the same company for 10, 20 or 30 years. We have to be adaptive and take control of our own self-development and tuition because that is how you differentiate yourself.”

Put frankly, Joan believes what we truly need is greater diversity.

“The first frontier of diversity is gender. Women constitute 50 percent of the population and I am member of the 25 Percent Group where we have the aspiration of getting to 25 percent of all board members being women. We’re starting to create a concrete pipeline for women coming into boards. Organizations like Global Women and the Future Directors Scheme and the 25 Percent Group are run by some people very actively solving the supply and demand problem.”

Joan shares that she is disappointed to hear from executive recruiters that women are not good at proactively going out and putting their CV for consideration for board appointments.

“Boards approach recruitment very differently to the old network base. Diversity whether it be gender, skill or ethnicity is essential. For a long time the average age of directors was well north of 50. A lot of boards are making a conscious effort now to increase the gene pool by getting directors who haven’t been on the typical list that the head-hunters have had. Particularly with technology being an increasingly important part of all businesses. Fairfax for example appointed Sam Morgan to their board which was a fantastic move because he does think very differently from the typical Fairfax Director.”

“One project I am working on in a not-for-profit capacity is Grow Our Own Workforce which is funded by the Tindall Foundation. We’ve set up health science academies in three South Auckland high schools. Students in those academies are supported in those areas and assisted through a pipeline into tertiary education and will ultimately move into roles in the Counties Manakau District Health Board. Historically the DHB had to import workers from overseas to populate the hospital. It’s important that the workforce reflects the people that it’s serving. It’s a great initiative that we’re seeing equally great results with.”

Having left high school with School Certificate for a job as a bank teller Joan has forged a career as a media executive eventually holding CEO roles in major media organisations and is a invaluable example of governance at its best.

“It is a privilege for me to work on the boards that I do serve on. I see my personal contribution is part of a team that works together to make the best possible governance decisions. Governance is essential to the long term sustainable success of organizations. At my age and stage I have the luxury of being able to decide exactly what boards I want to serve on and I have been fortunate to serve with some companies that make a real difference to New Zealand.”

Essential characteristics of being a successful board member:

Honest and integrity goes with saying

You have to be collaborative - offer your views and listen to others’

Arrogance is the biggest pre-indicator of disaster

Directors need to be diligent and prepared to do the work. Recent court cases have reinforced the importance of that. It is no longer sufficient to turn up to a board meeting having flicked through the notes and papers. Directors have to understand the ins and outs of the business and what questions need to be asked.