Strategic Board Retreat Enhances Governance and Leadership at a Leading Community College
The Brief
A leading independent school sought to conduct a comprehensive assessment of its Board’s capabilities and skills, followed by a strategic retreat.
The goal was to gain insights into the Board’s current strengths and identify areas of opportunity for future growth. The Board, composed of volunteers, was focused on ensuring continued growth and effective governance in a rapidly changing educational landscape.
Improved Employee Engagement
Companies that undergo successful organisational transformation experience a 30% increase in employee engagement. Engaged employees are more productive, less likely to leave, and contribute to a positive workplace culture.
Reference: McKinsey & Company, "The People Power of Transformations" (2018)
Financial
Organisations that successfully implement transformation initiatives see an average 25% improvement in their financial performance, including revenue growth and profitability.
Reference: BCG, "The Role of Leadership in Transformation" (2020)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Transformation projects with effective change management practices are six times more likely to meet their objectives and achieve a 143% return on investment (ROI).
Reference: Prosci, "Best Practices in Change Management" (2019)
Reduced Time to Market
Organisations that undergo successful digital transformation reduce their time to market by 20-50%, allowing them to bring products and services to customers faster and stay competitive in rapidly changing markets.
Reference: Deloitte, "Digital Transformation: A Roadmap for Billion-Dollar Organizations" (2021)
The Process
Future Leadership was engaged to facilitate the assessment and retreat, employing the following methodology:
- Briefing and Stakeholder Engagement: Conducting discussions with the Board Chair and relevant stakeholders to understand the current state, emerging conditions, and future needs of the Board. This stage also involved identifying current blockages and desired outcomes.
- Capability Assessment: Developing a Skills Matrix against which Board Directors could self-assess and comment on their strengths and areas for development. This assessment provided a foundation for the retreat discussions.
- Retreat Design and Delivery: Designing and delivering a half-day retreat focused on:
- Validating the Capability Assessment results.
- Enhancing Board governance and decision-making through a cyber challenge.
- Addressing succession planning and talent gaps.
- Reviewing and improving Board hygiene factors.
The retreat was facilitated by Future Leadership’s Managing Partner and the Partner leading the Advisory and Education practices.
The Advisory Team's Impact Across Clients Through Survey Feedback
32% Increase in Self Awareness
Individuals’ awareness of motives, values, strengths and development needs
21% Increase in Motivation
Individuals’ motivation to apply learning, insight and further develop
27% Increase in Confidence
Individuals’ confidence in their abilities and impact as a leader
30% Increase in Role Clarity
Individuals’ clarity around success factors associated with their role
The Outcome
The intervention was highly successful, with all participants valuing the time spent together. Key outcomes included:
- Application of Learnings: 66% of participants indicated they would be able to apply what they learned immediately or in the near future.
- High-Quality Facilitation: The delivery team received a rating of 5/5 for the quality of facilitation and the activities designed to aid learning.
- Positive Feedback: Participants praised the session, particularly highlighting the presentation on cybersecurity as a valuable component.
Thank you! This was a great session, very valuable and the presentation on cybersecurity was excellent."
