In every boardroom I have walked into, in the public sector, financial institutions, or family-owned manufacturers, it only takes a few minutes of silence to smell the culture. Not read it, but smell it.
At one board meeting, directors began as usual, heads down, scrolling through WhatsApp while nodding at the board pack. Midway through, the Chair paused and asked, “Has everyone read the strategy memo?” A few nodded.
No one spoke. “Any concerns before we approve?” The room went quiet. “We trust management,” someone offered.
But this was not trust. It was quiet disengagement disguised as confidence. Strategic detachment masquerading as oversight. The culture had shifted from stewardship to spectatorship, where silence was not alignment, but avoidance.
The culture of your board is not what is written in your governance charter. It is what you tolerate.
If your board tolerates lateness, unpreparedness, grandstanding, or silent compliance, congratulations, that is your board culture. Culture is not declared. It is enforced or eroded by what you permit, excuse, or ignore.
The tragedy is that most boards think culture is HR’s job. Or that “culture” only refers to staff. Wrong. Board culture is the first culture.
It cascades. If your board tolerates shallow debate, delayed packs, data-free presentations, and directors who show up once a year, you are not just failing governance. You are training your executive team to mimic mediocrity.
Do not outsource board culture to chance. If you are serious about legacy, start by disinfecting the boardroom. What you tolerate becomes the tone for the whole enterprise.
Do you need a boardroom diagnostic expert to support your next board review or cultural transformation? Mr. Strategy is the answer.
I work with high-impact boards to realign culture with governance, strategy, and performance. Make me your board culture expert.
I remain, Mr. Strategy
