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Chairmanship and board effectiveness
The First 100 Days of an Independent Chair
Establish trust, rhythm and clarity before trying to reshape the room.
Boardroom questions
- What is the board's stated role and what role does it actually play?
- Where are the hidden tensions between chair, CEO, founders and investors?
- Which routines need to be stabilised before larger change is attempted?
- What should the chair learn privately before setting a new tone publicly?
New chairs are often tempted to demonstrate value quickly. The stronger move is usually to listen long enough to understand where the real work is.
Early priorities
- Understand decision cadence.
- Read the political map of the board.
- Clarify where confidence and fragility coexist.
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