Practitioner's Guide to Governance as Leadership

CATHY A. TROWER, PhD, is president of Trower & Trower, Inc., a board governance consulting firm founded in 1998. Formerly a senior research associate at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, Cathy is nationally known for her expertise on board policies and best practices, leadership, organizational change, strategic thinking, group dynamics, faculty diversity/workplace satisfaction, and shared governance. She is in high demand as a speaker, consultant, coach, and advisor to boards and executives.Email: catrower@trowerandtrower.comWebsite: www.trowerandtrower.com

• List of Exhibits, Figures, and Tables xiiiForeword xviiby Richard ChaitPreface xxiCHAPTER 1: THE GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP MODEL 1Premises 2Underlying Assumptions 2Governance Reform 3The Three Modes or Mental Maps 4Why Three Modes? 14CHAPTER 2: GETTING STARTED AND GAINING TRACTION WITH GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP 21What Is Optimized at Board Meetings? 22What Is Different about Generative Governance? 22Moving to Higher Purpose and Optimizing Performance:Beginning the Conversation 23Moving to Higher Purpose and Optimizing Performance: Getting Started 26Moving to Higher Purpose and Optimizing Performance: Getting Traction 33CHAPTER 3: ENCOURAGING CRITICAL THINKING IN THE BOARDROOM 47Critical Thinking and Metacognition 48Getting on the Balcony 50Ways of Thinking 51Impediments to Critical Thinking 54Cognitive Biases and Board Workarounds 62Social Loafing 70Groupthink 71Avoiding Groupthink and Its Close Cousins 77CHAPTER 4: TURNING YOUR BOARD INTO A HIGH-PERFORMING TEAM 85Social Systems 86Groups and Teams 87Boards as Teams 89Effective Board Teams in the Context of Governance as Leadership 91CHAPTER 5: CREATING A GOVERNANCE-AS-LEADERSHIP CULTURE 125Culture 126Three Toxic Cultures 128Culture Change 131Culture Conducive to Governance as Leadership 132Tools to Support a “Governance as Leadership–Friendly” Culture 143CHAPTER 6: WHAT GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP REQUIRES OF LEADERS 169Leadership 170CHAPTER 7: MEASURING AND SUSTAINING GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP 187Measuring Board Performance 188Sustaining Governance as Leadership 211EPILOGUE 215REFERENCES 217ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 221THE AUTHOR 227BOARDSOURCE 229INDEX 231

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