Tamsin Stirling finds out more about Gofal’s constructive and different approach to board meetings.
In my board diary piece for WHQ issue 104, I talked about a number of approaches and methods that can be used by boards in order to get the best out of the human asset that is board members, in particular to enable board members to think and maximise their contribution. One of these approaches is thinking environment which is used by Gofal (www.gofal.org).
A few weeks ago, I was lucky to be able to observe a Gofal board meeting and see thinking environment in action. Below are some of my thoughts on what I saw, heard and felt. Gofal starting using this approach to meetings as a result of Cynthia Alleyne, a trained and skilled facilitator and coach, becoming chair of the organisation and Ewan Hilton, the chief executive, coming across thinking environment in his reading. This coincidence of events prompted them to try using the approach.
RESPECTFUL APPROACH
My main reflection from observing just one meeting is that thinking environment is a very respectful approach. Each board member’s contribution is specifically invited and listened to carefully by everyone around the board table. This involves a strong discipline steered by the chair and adhered to by all board members – no-one interrupts anyone else. An environment is created in which all contributions are welcomed and appreciated. Everyone is invited to contribute, both to discussions in pairs and to what are called ‘rounds’, where the chair asks for everyone’s views on a specific question or issue, always asking for whoever is ready to start the process, with subsequent contributions from board members sitting to the left of who has just contributed. Board members can ‘pass’ if they have nothing to contribute on an issue.
Thinking environment requires board papers to be written in a way that poses catalytic questions for discussion during meetings. The chair is involved in agreeing these questions, a process of genuine partnership working between chair and chief executive through which both their world views inform the wording of questions. Papers are generally short, ending with one or two questions and aim to get board members to think in a different way about the topic.
There is a discipline around board member contributions before, as well as during, meetings. Board members need to give proper consideration in advance of meetings to the catalytic questions which form the basis of the thinking environment style discussion. The brevity of papers means that the time which might have been spent on reading through long board papers, can be spent on thinking.
It is also an approach that encourages and enables challenge and constructive criticism, not only in relation to the agenda items, but also regarding the working of the board itself. The meeting I observed finished with two ‘rounds’ on what had worked well about the meeting and what could be improved for next time. Challenge is set within a positive context; a ‘round’ at the beginning of the meeting asked board members to identify what they most enjoyed about contributing to Gofal as an organisation.
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
I will return to the word respect here. Challenge and criticism can be done in an attacking and destructive way; what I observed was constructive and respectful of different opinions and roles within the organisation.
I witnessed some substantial disagreement between board members on a particular issue, but it was resolved though discussion in which the different views were aired, aided by careful contributions from the chair. These included discouraging board members from making the same point multiple times.
The use of thinking environment at Gofal’s board meetings has taken time and investment, including specialist support from a consultant, but it has been relatively easy to introduce and use. And its use is not static; I am sure that the approach will evolve further over time in the light of the collective experience of the board and senior management team members who attend board meetings.
At a time when there is so much ‘noise’ and so many voices speaking over each other, whether verbally or online, an approach through which diverse views are sought and really listened to, felt refreshing, positive and extremely welcome.
My thanks go to Gofal’s board members and senior staff for giving me the opportunity to observe their meeting.
Tamsin Stirling can be contacted at tamsin.stirling@dial.pipex.com and on Twitter @TamsinStirling1