Hi. I'm Margot Foster and I'm delighted to bring you my signature program The Boardroom School now in its 9th edition since commencement in mid-2020.

I am excited to announce the next series of 8 sessions begins on Tuesday 28 September 2021 at 5.30pm online. The program outline is below.

To be a successful director on a not for profit or charity board you must possess knowledge and know-how, and understand the behaviours and expectations of your fellow directors.

The Boardroom School is a highly practical program that takes you through a range of topics focussing on practical information and insights into how boards work.

The Boardroom School will give you the confidence to be your best in any board environment equipping you to recognise cues for whatever action or response is required, whether procedural or strategic and everything in between.

The Boardroom School is for

Aspiring directors, consultants and executives who want to become Non-Executive Directors
Current directors who wish to review their competencies/skills and improve knowledge and awareness
Chairs who wish to improve the performance of their board
Chairs & CEOs who manage new directors' inductions
CEOs & Senior Managers who aspire to become directors – or who want to see what it’s like on the other side of the table
Governance professionals who wish to extend their knowledge and participate in lively and interesting discussions
Change of career seekers - is that you?

A participant in a recent series said at the end of session 4

Just a ‘halfway’ thank you for the Boardroom series!

I’m getting a great deal out of the sessions. I appreciate the diverse backgrounds of the people and their storytelling and of course your great depth of experience and the ease and simplicity of your communication about very complex matters.

Looking forward to the next sessions.

You will be a member of a small, board-sized, group of like-minded people who want to be the best directors they can be. Conversation, storytelling and the sharing of experiences, good and bad, is the hallmark of the program.

Program Outline: 8 Tuesdays

🔸 Module 1 - 28 September ∙ Welcome Drinks and 25 Question Quiz

🔸 Module 2 - 5 October ∙ The Board and its people: numbers, skills, appointed/elected directors, role of the chairman

🔸 Module 3 - 12 October∙ Director responsibilities: legal & fiduciary duties & whole of board expectations

🔸 Module 4 - 19 October ∙ Conflicts of interest: what are they, who decides if there is one, and what to do if one pops up + role play

🔸 Module 5 - 26 October ∙ Meetings: having your say, managing personalities & groupthink, agendas, board papers + role play

Tuesday 2 November • Melbourne Cup Day holiday (just in case we can)

🔸 Module 6 - 9 November ∙ CEO & board relationship: who's the boss of who, staff interactions, division of tasks, delegations

🔸 Module 7 - 16 November • Structure, constitutions & compliance: frameworks for operating, importance of constitutions and policies, compliance management and consequences of not doing so

🔸 Module 8 - 23 November ∙ Strategy, risk & dispute resolution: strategy and risk essentials, risk frameworks and mitigation, dispute mechanisms and a drawing of threads to close

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 wholly depending on how the conversation is flowing.

What people say about The Boardroom School

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 Gopu Solomon 2/2020

It is a great feat to make the topic of governance engaging however Margot was able to deliver the content in an interactive format that enabled all students to share their experiences and take away lessons to apply to their respective boards. I would recommend any current or aspiring directors to complete The Boardroom School. Pravin 3/2021

I am getting a lot from them and wish I’d known all of this when I was at xyz…I had a feeling many decisions, actions etc. weren’t made quite the way they should’ve but had no idea (nor place) to speak up!!!

Anyway I’m loving what I am learning – so THANKS! Georgie 2/2021

I have been on Boards and committees over many years, but Margot's knowledge and ability to focus on key aspects has been rewarding since becoming President of xyz.

Margot has updated a lot of my existing knowledge on how current Boards should function and she is always available to provide advise outside of the conversation.

I have enjoyed the sessions. Mary 1/2021

I look forward to meeting you and sharing our stories, wherever you are in the world.