In many boardrooms, I have had the chance to step in; one silent killer stalks board effectiveness: mandate drift. Boards begin with strategic intent but slowly slide into operational meddling, drowning in detail, or worse, and shadow-managing the CEO’s team.
That is why I researched and developed the 5-item Board Mandate Brief, a straightforward and repeatable tool for onboarding and governance alignment. It is not a policy document buried in a manual. It is a living, breathing boardroom guide used every time a director joins, a mandate question arises, or governance boundaries are tested.
The tool’s power lies in its practical simplicity and directness. It answers five critical questions every high-performing board must settle, in plain language, directors’ respect:
- a) What are we here for?
- b) What are we not here for?
- c) How do we work with management without crossing the line?
- d) How do we exercise oversight without overstepping?
- e) How do we check ourselves before we wreck ourselves?
I use this tool especially for boards facing crises of CEO-board trust, boards of fast-scaling businesses where governance needs maturity, and even family-owned boards wanting professionalism without losing founder control.
It turns mandate from a theory into a practical discipline. Use this tool in:
- a) Director induction packs
- b) Annual board retreats
- c) Pre-strategy session briefings
- d) After a governance breach or misunderstanding
- e) As part of the board self-evaluation, feedback loops
Mandate discipline is not a one-off workshop. Make it a good habit. The Board mandate brief is how the best boards anchor that habit.
I remain, Mr. Strategy
