Team development

Way forward to a high performance board

Effective supervisory boards are more than the sum of the members’ individual competencies – they must work together as a real team. This also requires the supervisory board to use special development measures, which for members of management boards and management teams are already standard procedures.

In this context, attention is focused on promoting a culture of open and frank discussion based on trust within the supervisory board, as this is a key success factor for effective supervisory board activities. Four central fields of action are crucial for further developing and strengthening a culture of open and frank discussion:

• Professional and personal competencies of the members of the supervisory board: They not only have to be experts in their field, they also need to have a broad range of social and communicative skills as well as the required independence and level of professionalism.




• Characteristics and composition of the supervisory board team: Successful cooperation requires team spirit and a good team fit of all the supervisory board members. In addition to the required diversity on the board, this aspect must be taken into account when selecting new supervisory board members.




• Organisation and procedures of the supervisory board: A culture of open and frank discussion can develop only if an opportunity for discussion is created. This is achieved through a high meeting frequency and meeting duration, agenda-setting and meeting management, the establishment of committees as well as neutral and comprehensive information.




• Values and standards: Shared values and jointly accepted standards form the basis for appreciative, open and trusting cooperation within the supervisory board and with the management board. The supervisory board should be in a position to explicitly describe its understanding of roles and the culture of the board and to document this, for example, in the form of a team charter.

 

Within a team workshop moderated by us, we identify critical topics to be discussed within the supervisory board. Whether in connection with an efficiency review or as a separate intervention – the workshop situation fosters the exchange of ideas and information and focuses on the board itself.