Emotional Intelligence: The Invisible Force in the Boardroom

Expertise earns directors a seat. Emotional intelligence determines the value they add to it.

Picture a newly appointed director walking into her first board meeting. She brings three decades of industry experience, deep financial expertise, and a record of results that has made her an easy choice for the nominating committee. Midway through the meeting she offers an observation she knows is a valid point. Instead of engaging in further dialogue on it with her colleagues, there’s a brief acknowledgment, and the conversation moves on. Later, the board settles a decision in minutes, even though she expected it to be debated over obvious risks and costs. It was as though the decision had already been made before the meeting. (more…)