In September, 2013, a senior group of individuals who have worked together for over twenty years decided to take a leap of faith and build something new and exciting. Advanced Boardroom Excellence was formed and officially launched in January 2014...
Life at the Centre of the Arena: Coaching the CEO
by Jock Encombe
A Developing Leaders Quarterly article
Issue 18: 2015
The performance expectations placed on CEOs are immense and can be overwhelming, even for the most robust individual. Jock Encombe's article for the Developing Leaders explores the need for effective CEO coaching and tries to identify what is distinctive about this type of training. The article draws on the author’s experience and interviews with three leading UK-based coaches.
Advanced Boardroom Excellence announces appointment of Jackie White as Chief Operating Officer
Hr NETWORK National Awards Gala Dinner winners announced
Diversity in the Executive Pipeline
An article by Advanced Boardroom Excellence for the LexisNexis Company Secretary’s Review, Vol 38, No. 16, Published on 19 November 2014
In this article Helen Pitcher from Advanced Boardroom Excellence considers the need for diversity in the executive pipeline, and the important role played by non-executive directors.
As we consider the future of boards and reflect on past failings and misadventures it is important to remind ourselves of the capabilities and skills that non-executive directors (“NEDs”) are designed to bring to a company.
Take care of the board amateurs
An article by Carly Chynoweth for The Sunday Times originally published on 26 October 2014
When some non-executives are elected as ‘lay’ directors, the chairman may need to fill in gaps in their knowledge and stop top-level bullying.
IMAGE: Lesley-Anne Alexander, chairwoman of Acevo, where most of the board is elected by the members, says she appoints extra directors to fill any gaps (Akira Suemori)
Excitement builds for the HR NETWORK National Awards 2014
The shortlisted finalists for this years Hr NETWORK National Awards 2014 will soon be announced ahead of the Nominees lunch taking place in October. Advanced Boardroom Excellence are sponsoring this year's CEO Award.
The Hr NETWORK National Awards are the largest and most prestigious HR awards in Scotland. Launched in early 2007, the awards are designed to recognise, acknowledge and reward the champions of the Scottish HR profession.
Are you on the crest of the diversity wave – or struggling to catch up?
An article by Advanced Boardroom Excellence for INFORMED, the quarterly magazine of The Investor Relations Society, Autumn issue 2014, no 84.
Ensuring that the board has a good response to external questions about diversity is a vital part of the IRO’s work. Helen Pitcher looks at the issues involved in this area.
KidsOut Supporter of the Month
In the KidsOut Newsletter Autumn 2014, the charity recognised Nickelodeon, Advanced Boardroom Excellence and Aurora as their "Supporter of the Month" over the last quarter, stating "Their support towards our charity is highly appreciated."
Lack of women in senior roles can harm productivity
Originally published on Friday 19 September 201 at www.heraldscotland.com
BUSINESSES have been warned that excluding women from senior jobs is not just hurting their employees' career prospects - it can be harmful to the company's productivity.
Despite a series of efforts from firms and the Government to improve the prospects of women in the workplace, many companies treat it as a gender issue instead of a problem for the business, consultancy group Advanced Boardroom Excellence (ABE) suggests.
The lack of women in senior roles in UK corporates is not just a women’s issue
Advanced Boardroom Excellence, leading advisers in developing individual and collective director effectiveness, has today published a research report on diversity, with a focus on female talent in organisations.
The Report looks at this diversity agenda through the eyes of 70 successful women leaders and provides an insight into the extraordinary waste of female talent being overlooked.
And just who is responsible for diversity?
An article by Advanced Boardroom Excellence for HR Networks magazine
The change in the diversity environment is notoriously slow and ponderous. Here Helen Pitcher Chairman of Advanced Boardroom Excellence, a Board Effectiveness Consultancy ponders the speed of change and suggests we are at a significant point in the business cycle with regard to diversity.
Gender pay gap: female bosses earn 35% less than male colleagues
RI Europe 2014
The 7th annual RI Europe 2014 was held in London at The Tower Hotel from 3rd to 5th June 2014 and was attended by 500+ delegates.
Helen Pitcher, Advance Boardroom Excellence’s chairman, spoke at the investor-corporate summit on the 4th and 5th June on board diversity and gender: Are today’s corporate boards fit for a fast-moving, mixed economy?
The RI Europe 2014 Post Conference Report is now available (PDF 3.2MB)
The International Women’s Forum (IWF) is granted ‘Special Consultative Status’ to the United Nations
The International Women’s Forum (IWF) announced to it’s members that, on the recommendation of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it has been granted ‘Special Consultative Status’ to the United Nations on the issue of the protection and growth of women's leadership.
As part of its Special Consultative Status, IWF and its selected representatives located in UN headquarters in New York and offices in Geneva and Vienna will be asked to:
- Provide expert analysis in the field of women's leadership
- Serve as consultative advisor on critical issues affecting women's leadership
- Help raise public awareness of relevant issues relating to women's leadership
- Play a major role in advancing United Nations goals and objectives in regards to women's leadership
Narcissism, can it be tamed? How might Board Evaluation help?
An article by Helen Pitcher
A recent research paper by MWM called Taming Narcissus provides boards with essential advice on how to spot narcissism and suggests ways to nip it in the bud or 'tame' it.
Maslow and High Performing Boards
An article by Helen Pitcher
What do Maslow and high performing boards have in common? A recent McKinsey insight report highlights that higher and lower impact board’s depend upon the breadth of issues that directors focus on and tackle.
What do Football Teams and Boards have in Common?
An article by Helen Pitcher
As Stephen Gerrard tweeted during the Brazil v. Germany debacle, Brazil have Neymar, Portugal have Ronaldo but Germany has a team.
The Co-operative Conundrum
An article by Helen Pitcher
I read with sadness the piece by Matthew Goodman in The Sunday’s Times about the Co-operative Group. Goodman suggests that the appointment of Mark Bicknell, a veteran of the Co-op, who has been on various area committees since 2005, was perhaps not quite the radical overhaul modernisers hoped for.
