Industry Trends: The Speed of Decision Making

Board of Directors, Leadership, Nonprofits

The amount of time that leaders once had to make decisions has greatly diminished over the last two years.  In today’s on-demand world, CEO’s are now expected to process and react at a much faster pace.

As CEO’s work to keep up with this increase, they must also consider the impact this acceleration has on the working relationship between the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Team.

In many cases,  decisions made by the CEO must first be approved by the Board of Directors. While this is important in regard to checks and balances, which is part of the fiduciary obligation of the Board, and in creating a culture of Teamwork, the outside world is far less understanding and forgiving as they wait on decisions. 

So how do we balance the demands on CEO’s to make swift and sound decisions with the legal oversight and responsibilities of the Board of Directors?

Solutions may vary but we have 6 tips for empowering CEO’s to make decisions while ensuring the fiduciary obligations of the Board are being met:

• Be sure your strategic plan reflects the alignment of the Board and Leadership to common decision making

• Set criteria, such as spending limits and partnership expectations, ahead of time for ease of decision making

• Create and empower a Board task force to tackle decisions related to specific topics in a more timely manner 

• Allot for time at each Board meeting to discuss and gain preliminary approval on any potential decision the CEO will need to make on behalf of the organization

• Change policies that limit non-material decision making

• Keep honest and open communication to ensure the Board is never caught off guard or surprised by new information 
  
  The pace of decision making and the pressure on leaders to move quickly is positioned to continue to increase. Stay ahead of this trend starting today and determine ways your Board can be adaptive and engaged in this new landscape.