A dissenting voice can bring good governance - Rashmi Dube

Leadership sits firmly within governance, and good governance can only stem from good leadership set by the board. Recently, we have seen how this can be influenced by one person, either acting as a president or as the chair. We are only two weeks into 2021 and any business should take note on how personal agendas can bring about dysfunction and tarnish any organisation’s brand.

Equally, taking no action or taking action too late can also bring the credibility of the organisation into question.

The recent show of leadership concerns have been widely reported ranging from the brewing concerns over RICS and its governance, with the removal of four directors who allegedly raised concerns about financial reporting, and more globally questions over leadership were raised last week concerning the events that took place on Capitol Hill in the USA, and Silicon Valley where Twitter’s board decided to suspend President Trump’s account.

In any organisation, regardless of its size, it is incumbent upon the board as a whole and not just one individual that the organisation has a clear vision and purpose that also incorporates their values.

This will in turn inspire followers into action. As they do so, they create and build trust at all levels.

Currently, leadership has faced its challenges due to the pandemic and difficult economic climate.

But what happens when leaders fall from the path designated by the organisation? We cannot solely look to the followers to blame in any such situation. So, who else should be held accountable? We can only look to those that act as enablers. They are the directors that sit on the board.

If we look at the recent events in the USA, either President Trump was not listening to his advisers or his advisers were “yes people”, which provides no diversity of thought.

It was his enablers such as Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, along with 10 other Senators, that offered their support to the President’s challenge of the electoral votes, despite knowing that the outcome will not change.

In an organisation, the enablers are often the other board members. However, enablers can also sit outside the organisation in the realms of social media. Questions have been raised for some time concerning the role of social media and platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

It is interesting to see in light of recent events that Twitter disabled President Trump’s personal Twitter page – which had amassed a following of 88.7 million.

We can only suspect that Twitter’s board reviewed their organisation’s purpose and mission which is: “The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that improve – and do not detract from – a free and global conversation”

Google then considered the reputational risk to their brand and very possibly litigation risk of continuing to publish President Trump’s tweets.

A question that perhaps all enablers should be considering, particularly directors, is that if any legal action was brought against a chair or CEO, what is the likelihood that action might also be extended to the enablers, a sure concern for any board director who is simply going with the flow for a simpler life or wanting to hold on to a position/title.

Let’s face it, it is not going to be unusual for any chair or CEO to be faced with dissenting voices from the board and it is best to listen and calculate the risk of their concerns.

By not voicing an objection, enablers simply help chairs, CEOs and other leaders to serve a personal agenda. Governance is critical to any organisation’s health and wellbeing and we all play a part, even if we remain silent.

Rashmi Dube is a partner at Gunnercooke.

---

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson