For many board directors and senior executives, experiencing a company crisis has become a modern-day rite of passage. By now, everyone is aware that crises pose a constant threat to all organisations, regardless of how efficiently they appear to be managed. Crises can appear out of thin air, grow in intensity over the course of hours or even minutes, and endanger the continued existence of an organisation. They might also appear when long-simmering problems get out of hand. Institutions have paid the price in the form of significant regulatory penalties or court judgments, damaged reputations, diminished trust, and collapsed share prices.
Yet how many businesses can actually claim to be ready for a catastrophe of this magnitude? How much of the work of crisis preparedness fully considers interactions within the board and between the boardroom and the executive suite? How might the risk of deteriorating organisational dynamics be best identified and addressed—ideally, before a crisis?
Looking beyond the contents of conventional crisis playbooks, this Board Simulation will stage some of the most sensitive fault lines that a crisis rapidly exposes to devastating effect. Drawing in-depth act in the boardroom with battletested board directors and senior executives who have experience serving on boards of or as senior executives through an actual event and case study in a “live” role play, the facilitator and assessors will provide deep insights and perspective on how boards and senior executives can equip themselves to make decisions, respond to external scrutiny and develop solutions under the most intense pressure.
From common scenarios such as overreliance of the board on management, or on the flip side, micromanagement of the board – to problematic and challenging dynamics within the board itself, the session will examine some of the do’s and don’ts of boardroom dynamics and how creative abrasion can bring together different personalities and profiles towards fostering positive outcomes and greater effectiveness.
Learning Outcomes
- Hands-on learning of Board Dynamics:
- Individual personalities
- Group dynamics
- Group think/challenge/debate/conflict.
- Observing others in action, vs, putting yourself in their shoes. This provides simultaneous learning and self-reflection.
Who is this Programme For?
- Open to all board of directors
- Senior Management Team
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9.00am | Introduction |
| 9.15am – 10.30am | Special Board Meeting |
| 10.30am – 10.45am | Read the room: What did you observe regarding the Board Dynamics? |
| 10.45am – 11.00am | Coffee Break |
| 11.00am – 11.45am | Small group deliberations
|
| 11.45am – 12.15pm | Small group deliberations:
|
| 12.15pm – 12.30pm | Qualitative Assessment of Directors |
| 12.30pm – 1.30pm | Lunch |
| 1.30pm – 3.00pm | Debrief, Reflection and Taking Ownership of Learning with Role Players |
Facilitator’s updated bio:
Dr Marcella Lucas
FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
Lead to Innovate
Dr. Marcella Lucas is an innovation strategist who brings a global perspective to solving problems through innovative methods and solutions. Dr Lucas has co-created and delivered numerous trainings, workshops and conferences in the leadership and innovation space encompassing topics such as Blue Ocean Strategy, mindful and purpose-driven leadership, self-aware leadership and inclusion & diversity, for managers, senior managers, senior leadership, C-level leaders and Board of Directors.
Trained and certified as a Blue Ocean Strategy practioner, Dr Lucas was recruited to Malaysia in 2014 to deliver on strategic initiatives to support the national transformation efforts of the Malaysian government. Dr Lucas worked on developed high value, low cost and rapidly implementable strategies for Malaysia’s top political and civil servant leaders and key private sector players to foster social and economic development. This work involved advising on the strategy and planning for 11th Malaysia Plan, including strategy papers and game changers for implementation of projects and initiatives worth RM 260 billion(~US$64 billion).
Dr Lucas was previously the CEO of LeadWomen. Dr Lucas re-innovated how to position women’s leadership as a core strategic imperative for good, sustainable business performance. Under Dr Lucas´s leadership, LeadWomen grew from a training provider to a One-Stop-Solution consultancy for high calibre candidates looking for board opportunities and for boards looking for the right talent to meet their business needs.
Dr Lucas is a founding member of the Leadership Team and Lead for Workstream 3 (Supporting Women in Leadership) in Malaysia Women in Energy (MyWIE) and previously served on the Steering Committee of the 30% Club Malaysia. She serves as an external advisor at the Graduate School of Business at UKM and is an Adjunct Professor at UNITAR Graduate School of Business. Dr Marcella also served as a member of the Merdeka Award Nomination Committee (2020-2022).
Dr Lucas serves as a Board Director on Samudra Swiss Cottage Sdn Bhd. Dr Lucas obtained her PhD in Neuroscience from Dartmouth College, USA and BSc Biochemistry from the University of Bath, UK and is originally from the Netherlands.
