Warren Tapp is a clubs industry consultant and impending PhD who works in the arena of club legislation and governance. He shares his experience on the ins and outs of the relationship between the club CEO and the Board.
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Having been the Chair of 14 Boards myself I thought I would share my thoughts on the CEO’s relationship with the Club President/Board Chair.
Good governance only works if the two have a strong relationship and there is mutual trust. Both are the key links between the Board and management and I suggest they should talk at least weekly, even if it is only by phone.
When the Chair approves the agenda, the CEO should discuss it with them to see what should be included or left out for the next meeting. At the end of the day, it will be an agenda that the Chair approves and not necessarily everything the CEO wants. The CEO and the Chair should also discuss what reports are to be included or left out and the size of those reports. Always ensure reports are written with comments, analysis and any recommendations, so the Board can understand them and not be overwhelmed with too much operational detail.
Make sure the CEO and the Chair have an agreement that no Director can approach staff or, worse, give them instructions, without the approval of both. Equally, if the Chair gives the CEO an instruction perhaps ask them if this is a Board decision and not some personal matter the Chair has decided without the Board knowing. If it is an urgent matter the law allows a Board Chair to make a decision that you need, and then have it ratified at the next Board meeting. The Board can also conduct a flying minute between meetings that cannot wait, so the Chair can be asked to agree to do that electronically.
Club Presidents/Chairs come in all sorts of personalities (as do club managers) so it is important they quickly get to understand each other and agree on some guidelines about how to work together. If the CEO has reached a point where they cannot work with the Chair you can request a meeting with the whole Board to share your concerns. They may advise the Chair to deal with the CEO differently in future. Remember that by law, the Chair has no extra power than any other Director, except to run the Board meetings. If they try to go beyond that, ask the Board to consider this behaviour.
Having said all of that, trust between the CEO and the Board is critical, and knowing that they will back each other is important.
WARREN TAPP
