Can you hear my voice?

Originally published 4 July 2014

‘Apparently there’s an issue with women being heard at board meetings. They need to find ways to get their voice heard.’ So said my husband over a cup of tea after reading the latest research on why there aren’t more women on boards.

Isn’t it strange that the debate keeps coming back to how women need to change? And yet it seems to me that there is a more fundamental matter to consider.

How many board meetings remain in the world of Bleak House? Formal agendas, minutes and process? People interrupting each other, the loudest voice being heard. People making points and posturing. No real clarity on what the minds in the room are there to achieve.

It seems that boards stuck in that world won’t hear all the voices in the room. And are missing so much more besides. Perhaps it’s a shift of the paradigm of how boards operate that is needed rather than endless articles on how those who don’t feel they have a voice in that room have to shift to play that game?

What do really effective boards do to change the dynamic?

I’ve seen three simple things:

• focus the meeting around the key questions that will make the biggest difference to the organisation right now

• create space for each person to express their ideas and perspectives uninterrupted

• deal with formal process outside of the meeting

When meetings are run like this every voice gets heard, there are no interruptions as each person knows they will get their turn to speak. They therefore listen to understand rather than listen to interrupt. Ideas get built on, problems get solved. And the best of each person in the room is brought to the thinking in the room.

So, enough articles on how we need to change to work in an old world. I’m more interested in creating a new one.