VAB and Bonar Institute share results of Governance Trends Assessment

Earlier this year, the VAB team launched a research effort with our member James Bonar and his team at the Bonar Leadership Institute to explore trends in Board and C-Suite governance. The survey consisting of a questionnaire and some in-depth one-on-one interviews explored trends in the following categories: Brand, Leadership, Stakeholder Experience, Internal Communications, Data & Analytics, and Technology.

Roughly 66 of our members took part in the research project, submitting their responses to the questionnaire and then arranging a meeting to have an in-depth discussion on the activities of their businesses to capture more qualified data on their organisations’ governance, leadership and operational work. In this brief article, we wanted to make our membership base aware of this interesting and insightful work done by the Bonar Institute team and also highlight a few important trends coming from the research.

Interesting findings include:

• Data and analytics are still a challenge for more than half of respondents as it has been difficult to demonstrate progress to a robust, integrated measurement and reporting framework.
• The C-Suite and the Board struggle to fully comprehend the risks and rewards for the adoption of AI and enhanced automation of functional and previously manual activities. The requirement to not only be aware of the risks of AI, but to comprehend how to advise and lead through the accelerated disruptive nature that AI presents is lacking.
• Some organisations are still looking for more cross-functional collaboration with the Board to ensure internal subject matter experts (SMEs) are having the opportunity to contribute and promote their specific areas of expertise by leveraging the experience and expertise of the Board.
• Other organisations are struggling with creating a culture that attracts top talent, that begins with positively engaged employees and some have expressed they are still working to create a culture that is as outwardly attractive as it is internally rewarding.

If you would like to learn more about the project or discuss its findings with James and his team, you can contact them here to schedule a call. Also, mark your calendars for 26 September (5:00 pm CET) as VAB will host a VAB Together session with James and his colleague David Cliche to discuss the research and the trends discovered therein.

Bonar Institute partners with high growth organisations to optimise board and management talent through purpose. They define Purposeful Leadership as an ethical choice principled leaders make to achieve something greater than themselves. The team at Bonar Institute offers practical, impactful diagnostics; customised Board and management programmes in flexible formats; and executive coaching and mentoring. Feel free to reach out to them to learn more about their services.