The Boardroom School: board leadership and governance know-how for directors

Margot Foster AM is delighted to present her signature program The Boardroom School.

♢ It's about influence and excellence at the board table

♢ It's about being the best and most informed director you can be

♢ It's about the tips and techniques necessary to navigate board dynamics

♢ It's founded on story-telling, discussion and lots of great conversation &

♢ It's for everyone from any background as governance principles are universal

Series 1 for 2021 begins on Tuesday 23 February at 5.45 pm for 6.00 pm via Zoom (Melbourne time) and then on the following seven Tuesdays.

Session 1 begins with Welcome Drinks followed by the 25 Question Quiz on governance themes and topics to get the conversation started and set the scene for the following sessions. It is a 2 hour session; all others are between 75-90 minutes totally depending on how the conversation is flowing.

Group numbers are limited to reflect the size of a board and to allow participation by everyone in each session.

You are welcome wherever in the world you may be. Participants in the 3 online series in 2020 came from London, Lausanne, Singapore and around Australia.

This is what one seasoned professional said about the flavour of the program.

The Boardroom School was a valuable experience that I would recommend to new and seasoned directors alike. Margot is to be commended for putting together a program that enables discussion and learning on the "reality" of board roles, for example, the nuanced situations that might arise, or the ambiguous aspects of certain situations. It was refreshingly unusual to find a course like this was available and I found the discussions and group rapport to be educational, informative, and engaging. Due to the deliberately small size of the group, there was a high degree of participation from all members and the ability to discuss aspects of interest at greater depth. I have a greater degree of confidence and empowerment in approaching my next board role with the knowledge of the types of issues that are persistent for even the most experienced Directors, and the types of strategies that have been proven to be effective. Highly recommend! Nithya Solomon

This program is for you if you are 

• Directors, consultants and executives who want to become Non-Executive Directors
• Current directors who wish to review their competence and improve their knowledge and awareness
• Chairs who wish to improve the performance of their board
• Chairs and CEOs who manage new directors' inductions
• Senior Managers who aspire to become directors
• Governance professionals who wish to extend their knowledge and maintain awareness
• Change of career seekers - is that you?

This online series will help you to

• Understand your roles and responsibilities as a director
• Formulate and work to the organisation's vision, mission and values
• Focus on strategy and big picture thinking
• Be cognisant of your relationships with, and delegations to, the CEO and management
• Relationships with and duties towards stakeholders
• Understand best practice in the making of decisions 
• Appreciate the importance of well run and managed board meetings
• Address the content and style of board papers
• Attend any board meeting with confidence in knowing what your role is and what is expected of you

The series will include

• Lots of conversation and story-telling because that's the best way to learn
• Role-play topics where information learned is applied
• A range of articles as a valuable resource
• Not too much reading, nor too many exercises, for preparation, but just enough

The Sessions

◇ 23 February #1 ∙ Welcome Drinks and 25 Question Quiz

◇ 2 March #2 ∙ The Board and its people: numbers, skills, role of the chairman

◇ 9 March #3 ∙ Conflicts of interest: what are they, who decides if there is one + role play

◇ 16 March #4 ∙ Director responsibilities: legal duties & whole of board expectations

◇ 23 March #5 ∙ Meetings + role play: having your say, managing personalities & groupthink, agendas, board papers

◇ 30 March #6 ∙ CEO & board relationship: who's the boss of who, staff interactions, division of tasks

◇ 6 April #7∙  Structure, compliance & budgeting: frameworks for thinking, assessing and realising

◇ 13 April #8 ∙ Strategy & risk: last but not least, organisation underpinning essentials and a drawing of threads

More comments

Awesome. Loved it. Pumped for the rest.

Thank you everyone, I feel humbled to be learning with you all and from Margot over the next 2 months! Rachel Vickery

I've really enjoyed the small group format. Great participants and I like the international nature of it. Some interesting questions are being asked. I found the topic on minutes to be very helpful. Dianne Martin

Thanks for facilitating Margot and providing great materials - excellent thought pieces and just the right amount of "homework"! Sally Milner

This type of education should be mandatory for people wanting to be involved in a board at any level. Tarik Bayrakli Club Respect

I am really enjoying the course and look forward to Tuesday afternoon when I get to catch up with the group to discuss a new topic relating to board governance. I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in becoming a board member as it will give them a good overall grounding in the roles and responsibilities of a board member and what good governance looks like. Suzanne Henderson 

The role play was a great way to show that this is a difficult situation and something that needs to be addressed positively and consistently. It is important not to shy away from difficult discussions or situations. Karen Norden Singapore Gymnastics

I really found this session valuable and have begun observing participation of others in board meetings from a new perspective. I also have a better understanding of how I can participate More effectively. My next challenge will be to try to influence others toward more effective participation and board meeting outcomes. Brooke Kneebush Gogo Gynmnastics

Hi everyone, echoing all your comments that it was wonderful to meet you all and am very much looking forward to the rest, and to learning from all the incredible experience you have. Thanks Margot for developing this experience and learning for us all. 

The Board Room School is an incredible opportunity to connect with other governance conscientious individuals in an intimate learning setting led by a seasoned expert. The teaching style Margot employs encourages thorough and thoughtful conversations about topics, one-week at-a-time. The pace allows for the topic, readings, session conversations, and your own experience to integrate and 'upgrade' to reflect better governance expectations. Sheila Nguyen Sports Environment Alliance

I loved the course! Thank you so much for offering it and for making me feel so welcome. Being a young member of the group these sorts of courses can be quite intimidating, but you have made it some much fun and informative! I highly recommend this course to anyone! Aish Ravi

Thanks Margot 😊 These are so helpful – I wish I was on a board already so I could put it into practice, however the awareness is extremely helpful. Carla Khoo

And from Switzerland, Thank you very much for the boardroom school course, it was very interesting and the resources will be great to keep. I missed not joining the group this Tuesday morning! Narelle Henderson

Margot Foster AM has over 35 years of experience as a director on and as an adviser to boards.

She knows that being talked at in governance training sessions does not work and developed The Boardroom School to help directors learn and understand what it means to sit at a board table through practical examples and lots of story-telling.

Margot has served on boards from the local to the international levels, in both the government and private sectors.She is Vice President of Motorsport Australia, chairs a panel for World Athletics, is a member of Sport Integrity Australia's Advisory Council and is chairman of Sports Environment Alliance.

Margot is a lawyer by profession. She is an Olympic bronze medallist and a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in rowing and understands the preparation needed to succeed against the best in the world. She is a Member of the Order of Australia, one of the 50 Most influential Women in Australian Sport and is a Fellow of Trinity College University of Melbourne amongst other accolades.

She has the experience and lives what it takes to be an effective director and will help you be the most effective and productive director you can be, too. Step into the boat with Margot, learn how to go the distance and cross the line for a win.

Margot's cv can be found at au.linkedin.com/in/margotfosteram

She looks forward to seeing you so please head to the booking link and reserve your special spot for this wonderful series commencing soon.