Every year, charity finance professionals gather for the Charity Finance Group conference. According to Caron Bradshaw, who is presenting alongside her chair of trustees on the topic of ‘managing your board’, this is a time to look forward to as the relationship between the board and executive in CFG is great – so what’s the secret? Is a good executive-board relationship simply a matter of luck or is the way in which we approach our relationships the key to a happy marriage between governance and delivery?
Bradshaw illustrates, ‘Picture the scene – 10 serious senior charity professionals, a chief executive and four senior managers making paper aeroplanes. Conversation flows and there is obvious trust and mutual respect. Chatter and laughter is abundant, interspersed with challenging questions and serious thinking. The event? Our strategic planning day. While we had fun, we absolutely nailed some taxing strategic questions, moved the organisation on a step or two and underlined the importance of good relationships.’
Bradshaw notes that we tend to focus excessively on transactions when we work; on getting the job done and delivering services, albeit with a ‘bit of fun’ here and there to keep us going. However, Bradshaw believes that this focus is often at the expense of building relationships, and is an outdated approach to corporate wellness. ‘First, you spend a great deal of time at work and life is too short to be miserable,’ she says. ‘Second, having fun, knowing your colleagues, understanding what drives your board and taking time to build great relationships yields such dividends that the work becomes far easier.’
Having strong relationships helps in businesses, as they are run by flawed human beings who are constantly challenged by change. Bradshaw highlights, ‘In the right conditions individuals can work together, find solutions, be creative, adapt and change with less angst, fewer resources and in less time. You can remove blame from your work culture, empower individuals, and think across roles only if trust and mutual respect is nurtured. That happens when you attach sufficient importance to relationships.’ She adds, ‘So while what we have here at CFG may not be perfect, it is more productive, resilient and positive as a result of investing in how we work.’
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