Leading a Board of Directors in Finland: Powerful Downplay

Abstract

Board chair in Finland is an important actor in the governance ecosystem not merely the most senior board member responsible for the latter’s effectiveness. The chairs not only represent their boards in relationships with the owners and the CEOs but build and maintain their own ties with these key stakeholders. Chairs in Finland see themselves as facilitators of collective discussions in the board room which lead to effective consensus-based decision making. They use several specific strategies to play a role of an effective ‘board conductor’. They bring directors into the game by reaching out before the meeting and focusing their attention at the opening, they ensure adequate level of understanding in the board room by providing adequate materials and learning the businesses for the board, they provide time and create safe space for collective discussions, they engage management and actively use technology. In Finland chairs often act as ‘senior partners’ of CEOs. The areas of collaboration between the chair and the CEO include planning, preparation and re-flection on board meetings, important business projects and decisions the CEO needs to make about investments, partnerships, people, products, communication with key stakeholders. Finland is one of the most technologically advanced countries in Europe, but even there until recently the board rooms remained islands of low-tech. The pandemic has changed it forever. In the years to come most of the board work will be done with the help of digital technology and board chairs will need to orchestrate that process. Technology will become an important enabler for chairs of Finish boards. It will liberate some of their time from routine operations and will allow to concentrate on what is really significant – improving the effectiveness of the whole governance system, making boards more strategic both in what they work on and how they think, sustainable development and risk management. Board leaders will become more engaging and less authoritative, will operate as moderators and speakers of their boards rather than semi-independent players.