Developing the Next Generation of Governance Leaders for Aotearoa New Zealand

In a fast changing world, we see the challenges for directors are evolving apace. This has clear implications for the role that board members play and also the competencies that the role demands. We are believers in the value that boards can add. Directors need to act deeper into their organisation and operate more broadly at the same time.

Deep means ‘into’ the organisation, operating with an informed view of ‘how things work’ in this entity and across the sector. Think issues around conduct, for example. Broad means straddling a myriad of issues beyond one’s own subject matter expertise. Commercials, climate change, talent, strategy, technology, social licence and much more. So, the job of a director is getting harder and there is a very real challenge for directors to do what ever they can to develop their skills fast to ensure they grow with the needs of their boards.

It is for this reason, propelled by our vision of “transforming the leadership landscape of New Zealand,” that we have decided to embark on this research, to make our contribution to this field of knowledge. Whilst we work with board directors on a daily basis, including advising boards on appointments, board evaluations and chief executive succession, this research has seen us formally engage with a cross-section of the director community in New Zealand to develop and deliver a thought-piece that might serve to move our collective conversation forward. It is our expressed desire, that some of what we might call ‘the art and science of being a governance leader’ is made clearer through this work and that it might offer guidance on what it takes to be a great director in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand.

We trust that this document serves to catalyse some interesting conversations and is an interesting, digestible, and genuinely useful document.