Survival of mankind requires new approach to corporate governance and leadership

Oct. 22, 2012 - PRLog -- A new approach to corporate governance and leadership is required according to Colin Coulson-Thomas speaking at a global convention for business leaders at London’s Lords cricket ground. He distinguished “old governance which was imposed” from “new governance which business leaders should want because of the clearly beneficial results it brings for companies, people and the planet”.

The professor explained: “Hitherto corporate governance has been much concerned with board structures and the formulation of codes of practice. Yet such measures cannot prevent directors from taking poor decisions, attempting to cover their tracks and not always acting in the best interests of a company.”

Current corporate governance has not prevented a succession of failures and scandals and massive Government intervention. Bailouts and measures such as ‘quantitative easing’ have been needed to prevent the collapse of financial and economic systems. For Coulson-Thomas “‘old governance’ has not worked and cannot work so long as a proportion of directors continue to make wrong calls, some boards take stupid decisions and ‘walking overheads’ in head offices destroy shareholder value.”

Coulson-Thomas pointed out that “‘old governance’ has involved command and control systems and top-down leadership with its emphasis upon directing, leading, motivating and monitoring. Directors and boards have also been engaged formulating strategies and producing annual or multi-year plans.”

In addition “much effort has been devoted to restructuring organisations and multiple corporate initiatives to address various challenges. Some boards have sought to change corporate cultures while others engage in talent wars. Business schools have also put a priority on strategy formulation and jumped on change, knowledge and talent management bandwagons.”

Some enthusiasts point to surveys that reveal an association between elements of corporate governance such as particular board structures and financial performance. However, Coulson-Thomas believes “establishing cause and effect is more difficult. The association may simply be due to good boards trying to get most things right, whether a company’s products and pricing or observing codes of practice.”

The Professor wonders whether corporate governance has been a placebo or distraction: “Even its supporters and apologists acknowledge there are missing elements. We need to address such realities as uncertainty, insecurity and a lack of business confidence in key markets. Many ‘traditional’ approaches have also proved inflexible and costly, while priorities can change during their implementation.”

Coulson-Thomas’ search for alternatives has involved issue surveys of some 2,000 organisations and critical success factor surveys of over 2,000 companies and over 500 professional firms. It has included working with over 100 boards, reviews of the processes and practices of over 100 companies, European Community funded support of the owners of 50 businesses, and evaluations of over 20 adoptions of better options.

The professor finds: “Accumulated evidence is compelling and consistent. Many widely adopted responses to a changing business environment are general, expensive, time consuming and disruptive. Boards are overlooking quick, focused and cost effective options that ensure compliance and deliver large returns on investment and multiple benefits including higher performance, faster responses, lower support costs, increased understanding, greater engagement and reduced stress and risk.”

Coulson-Thomas’ latest reports show performance support can deliver multiple benefits by making it easier for people to excel at difficult jobs by emulating the approaches of more successful peers. It can support mobile activities, relocation and outsourcing. Built-in controls can enable people to innovate and develop bespoke responses and ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and corporate requirements. Users can be freed from dependency upon particular locations, and when customers are enabled to help themselves unnecessary activities can wither away.

For Coulson-Thomas: “‘New governance’ includes such missing elements and focuses on the behaviours of directors and boards. ‘Bottom-up’ ‘new leadership’ embraces helping and supporting. There is more emphasis upon implementing strategy, integrating learning and working and quicker adaptation. Affordable 24/7 support enables customers, staff and business partners to excel at critical activities.”

The Professor has found “the benefits of ‘new governance’ can be experienced within a few months and independently of current people, cultures, sectors and systems. The ability of performance support to quickly change behaviours enables more rapid responses to evolving circumstances and global sustainability challenges.”

He believes the ‘new governance’ and ‘new leadership’ focus on implementation and better support is relevant to sustainability: “They can make it easier for people to behave in a sustainable ways and avoid damaging and unsustainable activities. Using affordable technology such as mobile phones and tablets performance support can enable sustainable behaviour and choices across global communities.”

Increasingly relationships with employees, customers and other stakeholders need to be mutually beneficial if they are to last. Companies in various sectors have used sales support tools to engage and communicate with prospects, increase revenues and reduce costs while at the same time enabling quicker and bespoke responses to individual customer requirements.

Coulson-Thomas finds: “With appropriate support interactions with customers and prospects can be an opportunity to increase their understanding of the consequences of consumption decisions and help them make less damaging and more sustainable choices. Performance tools can also support collaboration across supply chains.”

As well as benefitting companies and the environment he has found “performance support offers clear advantages for individuals, whether employees or customers, such as reducing stress and satisfaction by making it easier for people to undertake difficult activities and increase their understanding, confidence and competence.”

Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas, vision holder of successful transformation programmes, director, adviser and author of over 40 books and reports has held corporate and public sector board appointments. The world’s first professor of corporate transformation and now a part-time academic at the University of Greenwich Colin has helped over 100 boards to improve corporate performance and spoken at over 300 events in 40 countries. He can be contacted via www.coulson-thomas.com.

Talent Management 2 and Transforming Public Services by Colin Coulson-Thomas which set out some of the changing priorities of new leadership, some 20 reports setting out critical success factors for key corporate activities and his book Winning Companies; Winning People which summarises what high performers do differently can be obtained from www.policypublications.com.

The Institute of Directors of India’s London Global Convention 2012 incorporated the 12th International Conference on Corporate Governance and the 3rd Global Summit on Sustainability. The convention started with a business meet and dinner at the Royal Overseas League and after two days of presentations and discussions at Lords cricket ground concluded with a study visit to the University of Greenwich and other locations on the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site.