Taster programme

Are you ready and willing to step up to the boardroom? Understanding what it means to be board-ready is essential to being a capable director. This interactive taster session will help you to understand the duties and obligations of the board director.

We will explore the characteristics and traits needed to be an effective board member – delving into the critical differences between the role of the senior manager and the role of the director.

Choosing to become a non-executive director (NED) can be prompted by a lifestyle change, an ambition to do something meaningful in the third sector, or a desire to make good use of skills and knowledge gained in an executive environment. 

Whatever your motivation, it is essential to know how to access such roles – and how to make yourself the most desirable candidate in a marketplace where multiple applicants may be attempting to secure a prime role.

This interactive taster session considers the important interplay and balance of board dynamics exhibited at board level, focusing on how to improve interaction, behaviour and relationships in board meetings. 

In this focused introduction to the topic, you will have the opportunity to explore:

• What board dynamics are – and why they matter
• Why (and how) board dynamics differ from those at executive and management level
• Some typical features of a well-functioning board with good dynamics
• How to recognise and help develop positive dynamics

Based on cutting-edge research into how senior teams make strategic decisions, this interactive taster session will equip you with an understanding of the ingredients of effective strategic decision-making and provide insights into the main challenges. 

You will then focus on assessing your own organisation’s competence in strategic decision making and consider the areas you will need to focus on to strengthen this ability.

This interactive workshop provides a board-level introduction to risk governance, looking at the importance of understanding risk, exploring how your business can prepare for uncertainty, and examining the director’s role in managing risk.

Working through a scenario-based case study, you will have the chance to engage with the topic in a practical way and analyse the situation using a sample risk assessment that prompts thought about different types of risk including governance, operational, financial, sector-specific and external or emerging risks.

This interactive taster session will enable you to distinguish the role of a director from the roles of others involved in the management and oversight of a business, and explore the link between a director’s duty towards the company and their potential personal liability.

1. Who is a director?

2. What do directors do?

3. What authority does a board have?

4. What personal liabilities do directors have?

5. What is a conflict of interest?