Date: May 27, 2010
Location: Royal York Hotel, Toronto
Time: continental breakfast 8:30; session: 9:00 to 4:00

Agenda - Faxable Registration

All Brown Governance Seminars qualify for continuing education for all Directors College graduates!

Getting diverse people to focus and reach consensus while promoting challenge and change- this is the #1 job of a chair, and requires extraordinary skills.

Facilitator: David Brown Executive Director, Brown Governance Inc.

This one-day event is for board and committee chairs and directors who want to be more effective in the chair. Most boards and committees have largely succeeded in defining structure, charter, roles and responsibilities, but culture and behaviour are at least as important to effective functioning. In addition to examining the roles and responsibilities of the Chair this workshop will you give an opportunity to practice new skills through interactive simulations of board/committee meetings. With instant feedback from your peers, a skilled facilitator and experts in boardroom functioning, you will leave with a greater sense of your capacity for this challenging and rewarding role.

You will:

• Practice chairmanship in interactive board games that simulate board and committee meetings. And, you will:
• Receive instant constructive feedback and practical suggestions on your chairmanship style from your peers and our panel of experienced observers
• Learn how to identify and work with different personality types and problem-solving preferences, including understanding and recognizing how each is motivated and inspired in different ways
• Gain insight into the timing of meeting leadership, from dealing with dissent to knowing when to call for the vote.
• Learn how to deal with underperforming board members
• Avoid pitfalls in director peer evaluation and the evaluation of the CEO
• Learn techniques for building consensus and resolving disputes
• Understand the roles and responsibilities of the Chair

• In this opening session participants will discuss the role of the chair and its unique challenges.

• Board Game 1: In this simulated peer evaluation session, the Chair of the board is having a one-on-one meeting with one of the directors to review their peer evaluation. The director is not altogether happy with the results of the evaluation. Practice working with each of the four main personality types.

Special Guest: Peter Gardiner-Harding Partner, Plays That Work

• Board Game 2: Your board is in an in-camera meeting to discuss a performance issue with respect to the CEO. This interactive board game provides participants with an opportunity to practice chairing meetings and getting people of different personality types and preferences to work together.

• Board Game 3: In this board game, half of the board is convinced that a merger with the larger company is the best strategy for increasing shareholder value, the other half of the board is of the opinion, rather, that an aggressive acquisition strategy is the course best taken. Decide for yourself when to call for the vote.

• Open and frank dialogue with your peers on what works, what doesn’t and what can be done about it!