6.3 Systems inside the board

Question 1

Cross splits the “individual director lens” into three subcategories. What are these?

Answer 1

Biology and personality
Life roles
Director roles

Question 2

Cross identifies three conflicts that affect role conflict (i.e. work life balance). What are these?

Answer 2

Time conflict
Strain conflict
Values conflict

Question 3

What is imposter syndrome?

Answer 3

A phenomenon whereby an individual doubts their own achievements and fears being exposed as a fraud.

Question 4

Which banking failure demonstrates an overemphasis on the “individual lens” when considering board dynamics?

Answer 4

Nick Leeson’s unauthorised and fraudulent trading bringin down Barings Bank.

Question 5

Cross splits the “interpersonal board relationship lens” into two subcategories. What are these?

Answer 5

Building trust

Ego states

Question 6

Maister et al offer four characteristics that contribute to trust. What are these?

Answer 6

Credibility
Reliability
Intimacy
Self-orientation

Question 7

What is Maister et al.’s trust equation?

Answer 7

(Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) / Self-orientation

Question 8

Who developed the trust equation?

Answer 8

Maister et al.

Question 9

Eric Berne (1950) set out a Levels of Communications model to understand how intimacy is built. What are the levels of communication in this model?

Answer 9

1 Ritual and cliche
2 Facts and information
3 Values and beliefs
4 Emotions and feelings

Question 10

Berne (1950) characterised three “ego states”. What are these?

Answer 10

Parent ego state
Adult ego state
Child ego state

Question 11

Cross splits the “team relationships lens” into three subcategories. What are these?

Answer 11

Team development frameworks
Team dialogue
Board conflict

Question 12

Who characterised the three “ego states”? (parent, child, adult)

Answer 12

Berne (1950)

Question 13

Tuchman (1965) offers four stages of group development. What are these?

Answer 13

1 Forming stages - meeting and agreeing goals
2 Storming stages - voicing opinions / personality clashes
3 Norming stage - resolve differences and coalesce around common goals
4 Performing stage - established mission and norms

Question 14

Who developed the four stages of group development model

Answer 14

Tuchman (1965)

Question 15

Who published the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team model in 2002?

Answer 15

Lencioni (2002)

Question 16

What are the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team according to Lencioni (2002)?

Answer 16

1 Abscence of trust
2 Fear of conflict
3 Lack of commitment
4 Avoidance of accountability
5 Inattention ti results

Question 17

Kantor in Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together, identified four roles within a group that must exist for the group to be in productive dialogue.

What are these?

Answer 17

1 Mover - provides direction
2 Follower - provides completion
3 Opposor - provides correction
4 Bystander - provides perspective

Question 18

Losada (1999) identified 4 key traits of effective teams. Explain each of them:

1 Connectivity
2 Advocacy : Inquiry
3 Other : Self
4 Positivity : Negativity

Answer 18

1 High performing treams have very high connectivitiy
2 High performing teams have a 1:1 balance of advocacy to inquiry
3 High performing teams have a balance of self to other referenced comments
4 High performing teams are strongly positive

Question 19

Cross identifies three sources of conflict in the boardroom. What are they?

Answer 19

Relationship conflict - personal issues.

Task conflict - differences of opinion around the approach to tasks

Process conflict - how resources are used

Question 20

According to Jen & Mannix (2001), higher levels of relationship conflict are likely to lead to problems and a team being lesss….. what?

Answer 20

effective

Question 21

According to the ICSA/Henley Business School report on Conflict and Tension in the Boardroom, what is the difference between tension and conflict?

Answer 21

Tension is disagreement that can be resolved by healthy debate. Conflict is aggressive tension that escalates to unsolvable levels.

Question 22

According to the ICSA/Henley Business School report on Conflict and Tension in the Boardroom, which roles are most important for resolving boardroom conflicts?

Answer 22

Chair, Company Secretary, SID.

Question 23

Katharina Pick envisioned the Drama Triangle, highlighting the dangers of overemphasising individual expertise in the boardroom. What are the three points of the triangle?

Answer 23

The victim
The persecuter
The rescuer

Question 24

Which UK board organisation ofered a number of reccomendations for challenging in the boardroom?

Answer 24

Bvalco

Question 25

Dulewicz and Herbet (2004) suggest 16 tasks of the board, split into which categories?

Answer 25

1 Supervision of management
2 Accountability to stakeholders
3 Strategy and structure
4 Longer term vision, mission values and policy,