Governance · The board · Component
Board skills matrix
The capabilities the board needs over the next few years, set against those its members bring, used to choose the next appointment.
The deliverable
What it is
Board composition is decided one appointment at a time, and each appointment seems reasonable on its own. The matrix shows the cumulative effect: a board with four finance backgrounds and nobody who has run operations did not set out to look like that.
It is derived from the strategy. The capabilities needed at the top change when the business enters new markets, changes its technology or prepares for a sale, and the matrix connects those changes to who sits on the board.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
Required capabilities
The experience and knowledge the board needs collectively, derived from the strategy for the next three to five years.
3 attributes: Capability · Priority · Why needed
LearnDirector profiles
Each director’s capabilities, independence and tenure, assessed against the list of required capabilities.
3 attributes: Director · Independence · Appointed
LearnGap analysis
Where required capabilities are missing or thin, and whether an appointment or an adviser will fill each gap.
3 attributes: Gap · Remedy · Filled by
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Draw the matrix before the vacancy arises. Drawn afterwards, it tends to describe the candidate already in mind.
The other components in the board
Board charter
The board’s mandate in writing: its role, the matters reserved to it, its committees and how authority passes to management.
LearnAnnual board cycle
The year’s board meetings, each with the standing items it must cover, fixed before the year begins so that nothing is crowded out.
LearnBoard evaluation
A periodic review of how the board works — composition, information, discussion and decisions — with the actions that follow from it.
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