Some years ago a colleague and I were interviewing someone for a job. As the interview ended he asked us good questions but they were not good enough for our answers give him an idea of the inside story. After he left my colleague turned to me and with a wry smile said “He is the best candidate for the job and we should give it to him. I wish though that I could tell him not take the offer because he’ll come here and get shocked that this place is not what it looks like to the outside world”. Needless to say that the panel, ahem …… was itself readying to step out through the revolving doors.
The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth has taken on new meaning as I facilitate board governance training and in my own board service. When the board is given little and poorly presented information, very costly decisions are made. Sometimes no decisions are made at all because the reports are presented in an uninformative way. It is no wonder that sometimes organisations crumble and board members who should have seen it coming, get the inside story from highly publicised scandals. Or, after a post-mortem of the company whose death could have been avoided.
It is alarming for a board member to genuinely answer to a question about a major governance issue in the public domain concerning their organisation “I’m reading about in the media like you”. Different things could contribute to this disconcerting situation such as the selection criteria for serving on the board, capacity development for both board and senior managers, quality of the board orientation program, robustness of board performance management and the quality of board reports.
In a world where filtering, airbrushing and embellishments are applied to very many aspects of life, it is important that board reports are unfiltered, real and meaningful. This is imperative given the multiple high speed changes in the world that make decision making more complex by the day. Both the board and senior management are responsible for ensuring the organisation establishes and maintains an optimal reporting system. The board chair in particular needs to ensure that standards are set for reports that speak to the organisation’s mission, strategic direction, objectives, complexities of the internal and external operating environment and key performance indicators.
Reliable reports include hits, misses and near misses on all aspects that are critical to shaping organisation success. This includes paying adequate attention to how the changing nature of life, work and emerging issues are playing out on the people and culture aspects of your organisation.
Some questions that can help you check if your reports are robust enough include:
- Do the board reports comprise a mix of hard data, soft narratives, financials and non-financial metrics?
- Do the metrics used measure what matters?
- Are the reports presented in a consistent way so that comparisons are easily made and progress (or lack of it) can be tracked?
- Is the balance right between historical reporting and future orientation?
- Are the board reports clear and easy to understand or mind boggling?
- Do the reports highlight negative outcomes and situations?
- Is the information presented up to date and timely?
Initially when the quality of reporting improves, you may get some nasty shocks about the real picture of your organisation. But, you will be well equipped to change the tide and position the organisation for real success – no filters! Whether you receive reports as a board member or you prepare reports for the board, let them always be the whole truth about the good, the bad and the ugly.
