“You enabled us to create an environment for healthy disagreement and voicing red flags that could knock over the business. This journey really helped surface what makes this board a great board, not just a good one.”
Challenge
- A hospitality organisation was experiencing stagnation in revenue and market positioning.
- The board was disconnected, dysfunctional, and had become reliant on external funding rather than developing a resilient, customer-driven strategy.
- There was little alignment among members, resulting in ineffective oversight and frequent conflict, with board meetings often devolving into unproductive disputes.
- The organisational mission lacked a clear guiding direction, causing missed opportunities and strategic drift.
Approach
- We led a board renewal process, replacing 80% of the previous board and collaborating closely with the board chair and CEO.
- The team co-created a comprehensive board charter, establishing norms for open, constructive dialogue and valuing respectful disagreement.
- Individual strengths and perspectives were surfaced to create a psychologically safe environment.
- Workshops focused on clarifying the board’s role, purpose, and communication style, enabling healthy debates to drive more strategic decision-making and alignment with organisational goals.
Impact
- The transformed board developed stronger cohesion, clarity of purpose, and a culture of constructive challenge.
- It became an effective mentoring partner to the CEO, proactively identifying and addressing risks. Strategic succession planning replaced reactive crisis management, and board discussions shifted from personal disagreements to focused debate on business issues.
- The organisation regained its market relevance and significantly improved its position against competitors.
