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Chairmanship and board effectiveness

When the Board Should Intervene

Clarify the line between challenge, support and intervention before governance becomes either passive or intrusive.

Boardroom questions

  • What threshold of underperformance or risk changes the board's role?
  • Is management asking for advice, authority or endorsement?
  • What would proportionate intervention look like in this case?
  • How can the board act without blurring accountability?

Boards can fail by intervening too early or too late. The underlying discipline is to match board action to the seriousness and reversibility of the issue.

Related essays

Further reading