Dr Tania Graham: recruiting directors for their agile mind-set

It can be challenging being a board in the modern age. Changing global forces, including digital and technological advancements and societal values, mean directors need to understand, evaluate and apply new information to benefit the organisations they serve.

A board’s internal dynamics can have a big impact on how individual directors and the board, as a whole, performs. A lack of support or dysfunction can lead to unrealised potential.

Some common mistakes for a board include looking back too much, getting too caught up in internal matters, getting side tracked by minor issues, or falling into familiar routines that offer limited value. Even if board members are collegial with each other and are passionate about the organisation’s purpose, they might struggle to understand or accept new information. Or they may fail to replace members who aren't pulling their weight.

Board agility is often suggested as an important component of board performance, with the hope that it can ensure boards govern with greater foresight. The Institute of Directors has identified ‘board agility’ as one of the Top Five Issues for directors in 2023. As a way of navigating this fast-paced era of change, it is as much about a “mind-set” as anything technical.

But what exactly does being ‘agile’ mean in the context of governance? Can the agile philosophy, that originally came from the software industry, meaningfully find a place in the world of board governance? And if so, how can boards cultivate a culture that fosters agility at both the individual and board level?

We sat down with Dr Tania Graham, a registered psychologist and director at leadership assessment organisation Cerno. In our discussion, she sheds light on what it means to be agile, why boards might want to recruit agile directors, and how directors can become more agile.

SC: What does being agile mean to you from a psychologist’s perspective and how does being agile impact decision-making processes at the governance level?

TG: We often think of agility as the ability to adjust in a nimble and effective way to changing circumstances. Agility is important at both a whole-of-board and an individual director level.

Being agile supports effective board decision-making. What this looks like in practice is an expansive analysis of challenges and changes that incorporates a diverse range of perspectives. It includes questioning and challenging the board’s thinking, debating, exploring and testing a range of potential options.

Increasingly, boards are operating in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world where circumstances are changing constantly. There has also been increasing recognition that boards need to govern in more inclusive ways. Agility is fundamental to governing effectively in these types of environments. Boards are more likely to be agile if their members are agile, so it’s important to recruit directors that display agility.

SC: Are there specific individual skills or attributes that directors can develop to enhance their agility? If so, what are they and how can they be acquired?

TG: Yes there are, although we view agility as an advanced skill. There are a lot of skills that underpin agility and these skills can be tricky to develop (hence the importance of recruiting directors that already have these skills). The most critical skills include:

1. Flexibility of thought: A willingness to think in different ways, be challenged, welcome new ideas, and think in a non-linear way. There are three key skills that enable flexibility of thought:

• Intellect. Directors need a certain degree of intellectual horsepower to distil complex issues and identify the best way forward. While intellect is relatively stable over time, directors can add a broad range of strategies, models and frameworks to their kete (by demonstrating curiosity, below) to assist them to analyse issues and make decisions effectively. The more tools in their kete, the better placed they are to be agile in their response to new challenges.
• Curiosity. Directors who adopt a curious and questioning mind-set can develop their flexibility of thought. We recommend that directors engage in continuous learning to expose themselves to different views, experiences, disciplines, and models. We also recommend that directors develop their ability to ask neutral, open and probing questions. This will help them to fully understand issues, their causes and complexities, and others’ differing perspectives. It will also assist directors to avoid the trap of reinforcing their existing views.
• Strategic thinking. Agile directors are those that are forward thinking, see the bigger picture, spot links between issues and identify possibilities and opportunities. They also stretch others’ thinking, challenge the status quo, and are comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty.

2. Flexibility of behaviour: A willingness to act in different ways. Agile directors adjust their style and approach to reflect the changing needs of situations and the people around them (rather than resorting to a one-size-fits-all style). This requires a strong ability to ‘read’ situations and people, and knowledge of a range of different styles and approaches that can be applied to issues. Directors can grow the ability to be flexible in their behaviour by challenging themselves to do things differently from how they’ve done things in the past.

3. Self-awareness: Self-awareness is absolutely critical to agility. Truly agile directors have insight into their strengths, development areas, preferences, biases, style and impact on others. They recognise when a particular approach is not working, and when they need to change tack. Unfortunately, in our experience assessing senior leaders, many people tend to think they are highly self-aware when in fact they are not (so this is likely to be a blind spot for many directors). Directors can strengthen their self-awareness is by regularly reflecting on their effectiveness and by seeking others’ feedback (our 360° feedback tool can be very helpful for this).

SC: What do you think are some barriers that individual directors and/or boards may face when trying to adopt an agile mind-set?

TG: I’ll focus on the psychological challenges and barriers here:

1. Rigidity/inflexibility: If some of the most important skills for agility are flexibility of thought and behaviour, then rigidity of thought and behaviour are some of the biggest challenges to agility in two ways:

• Rigidity of thought. Displaying biases and taking a narrow, detailed, or myopic view of issues too early in the decision-making process are the enemies of agility. Groupthink can also diminish agility.
• Rigidity of behaviour. Rigidity of behaviour occurs when boards are hesitant to do things in new and different ways. People find comfort in the familiar, yet tolerating a certain level of discomfort is required of boards in order to take considered risks, experiment and innovate.

2. Confidence and resilience: There are plenty of directors who experience self-doubt and lack self-confidence. This means that they can be reluctant to move outside of their comfort zone, innovate, take risks, admit when they’ve made a mistake, question and challenge, and make well-informed decisions – all of which can impede agility.

SC: What role does leadership play in fostering agility in the boardroom?

TG: Leadership is critical in modelling agility and encouraging an agile culture. Leaders can model agility by asking questions, teasing out others’ ideas, welcoming different ideas, experimenting with different approaches and challenging the status quo.

Leaders can encourage an agile culture by creating an environment that is safe and supportive, where people feel free to bring a diverse range of views to the table, where they are encouraged to explore and test a wide range of views and ideas, and learn from their mistakes. Rewarding agility when they see it, and calling out behaviours that undermine agility, are also critical here.

Defining what effective agility looks like (and what it doesn’t look like) in practice, and why it is important, is also important. Leaders could encourage regular discussion to ensure there is a common understanding of their desired agile culture.

SC: Are there any potential risks or drawbacks associated with an agile approach in the boardroom? If so, how can these be mitigated?

TG: The most obvious risk is that a board that is highly agile could be seen as scattered in its focus and as perpetually changing the organisation’s direction. This can give the impression of a directionless waka and create a sense of instability, and possibly a lack of confidence in the board. That’s where an unwavering focus on the vision is imperative.

There is also a risk that board decision making is slowed down. For example, a board that spends too long exploring a diverse range of views and possibilities may be slow to agree decisions and actions. Regularly evaluating the balance they achieve between exploration, analysis and action is important.

SC: What are some practical steps or actions that directors can take immediately to start making their own agility shift at a personal and boardroom level?

TG: Boards can increase the diversity of their members. This will enable a broader range of perspectives and skills to be brought to bear when boards face new challenges and changes.

A key way that directors and boards can strengthen their agility is by regularly engaging in critical self-reflection and by seeking feedback. In addition to using board evaluation tools offered by the IoD, they could ask themselves and others questions such as, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being extremely effective), how effective am I at:

• creating and reinforcing an agile culture?
• showing curiosity (asking questions to elicit and understand people’s views; exploring a range of solutions; keeping open-minded about solutions)?
• balancing analysis and action?
• remaining strategic (focusing on the future; seeing the bigger picture; spotting opportunities and possibilities; seeing links between issues; showing comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty; asking questions to stretch and challenge others’ thinking)?
• showing a willingness to experiment and do things in new ways (taking considered risks and innovating)?
• adjusting my style to reflect the changing needs of situations and people?
• engaging in continuous learning (deliberately exposing myself to a broad range of thinking and experiences; and learning new models for analysing issues and making decisions)?
• Setting aside time for self-reflection and seeking feedback?
• Demonstrating self-awareness and insight (understanding my strengths, development areas, preferences, biases, style, and impact on others and how this plays out in my director role)?

Learn to be agile and share your experience

For boards that are interested in a robust evaluation of their agility, Cerno offers independent interview-based board reviews. These reviews provide rich insight into members’ thoughts and feelings about all-important board dynamics (rather than focusing on governance responsibilities per se). Cerno’s reviews flush out board strengths and areas for improvement so chairs and members gain insight into their particular situation. Specific factors of greatest interest to the chair are also included (agility, meetings, decision-making processes, diversity and inclusion, and relationship with executive leadership). Please contact Cerno for more information on info@cerno.co.nz or 04 473 9966.

The Governance Leadership Centre is keen to further explore agility principles in practice. If you are a director who has experienced what it is like to introduce agile principles into the way your board works, we would love to hear about your experience.  Contact glc@iod.org.nz