The Board as a Leader

Odgers Berndtson Finland explores CEO perspectives from 72 major Finnish companies, on the performance of boards in strategic decision-making, results delivery and motivating leadership.

As in any productive leadership relationship, the way an organisation’s board acts as a leader for its CEO matters. The competencies, insights and methods of boards differ greatly between companies depending on their size, composition and ownership, which means that their approach to leading the CEO varies as well.

While much work has been done to better understand board working practices and internal dynamics as well as demographics and diversity of board members, there is less insight into how CEOs view the board’s contribution to their own performance and the company’s long-term success. Hearing the CEO’s perspective, however, is important as well – most of the board’s contribution and value-add enters the organisation through the CEO, and how they feel about the board certainly impacts their performance as well as how the board’s insight is utilised within the organisation.

The report considers company size and type, compares the leadership of listed vs non-listed companies and captures data around strategy, results and motivating leadership.