Engage Governance

In this podcast Peter Fowler, Managing Director at Lumi UK, looks at how annual general meetings (AGMs) are changing. Peter believes the hybrid format is the most effective because it allows physical and virtual attendance and provides equal opportunity for all shareholders to participate and put questions to the board. Hybrid meetings also allow the board to construct a more thematic Q&A session and give the company more opportunities to manage potential disruption from activist shareholders. Peter also describes how the move to virtual or hybrid meetings coupled with the priorities of the modern-day shareholder are refocussing the event on true business matters. 

In this podcast, Jennifer Sundberg, Co-CEO of Board Intelligence, discusses her company’s theory of collective intelligence, which advocates moving away from superstar CEOs and board-centric decision-making to recognising the whole organisation’s potential to make great decisions. In practice this means applying Board Intelligence’s core principles throughout a business not just in the boardroom. For example, asking simple questions to spark critical thinking. Jen says we need to rediscover our childhood tendency to ask questions and unlearn writing conventions that stop us communicating clearly. She adds that the approach is particularly important now when the ability to move fast and take quick decisions is what sets a business apart.

In this podcast Daniel Roach, Senior Technical Lead at Company Matters, discusses the latest developments in ESG reporting. The conversation covers both voluntary and mandatory ESG requirements, looking particularly at the new ISSB standards, the TNFD and the proposed changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code. Daniel discusses increasing investor pressure on companies in relation to ESG, why ESG matters to governance professionals, and how to decide which ESG standards to report against. He argues that understanding your stakeholders will help you identify the correct ESG focus for your business and that good ESG reporting is honest and transparent.

In this podcast Sophie Paton-McDermott, a partner at Make Happy, explains how to approach and conduct difficult conversations. She argues that being skilled at having difficult conversations can make you more effective and advises being strategic about the conversations you have. Sophie says it’s important not to put off tricky conversations and describes how reframing a conversation in your mind, as well as using breathing techniques, can help you cope. She says it’s natural to become defensive and/or emotional and advises naming emotions to achieve a constructive conversation. Sophie argues the best conversations happen in person when the timing is right.

In this podcast Alex Efthymiades, Director and Founder of Consensio, discusses workplace conflict. Alex argues we aren’t taught the skills we need to successfully navigate conflict; therefore, we avoid it because it feels uncomfortable. However, Alex believes conflict can be positive, enabling us to clear the air and become more productive. She says it’s important to create a workplace environment where healthy conflict can flourish. This can be done by establishing psychological safety where everyone feels able to speak up without being punished. This is particularly important in the boardroom, where constructive challenge is needed to avoid groupthink.

In this podcast Sharon Constançon, CEO of Genius Boards, offers advice for company secretaries and governance professionals on managing the challenges they face in their role, from gaining feedback and stretching themselves to learning tactics to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Sharon advises compartmentalising the noise of the role to gain control of it. She describes how to handle the inevitable left hook and the value of being the trusted expert who absorbs panic rather than creating it. Sharon highlights the power of conversation initiated by the governance professional to fix a broken relationship, as well as discussing how to own up to a mistake and how to avoid being seen as a ‘blocker’.