Prospectus hosted the latest of our Leadership dinners on Tuesday 25th May 2010 at Beyond Boyle EC3R 5BJ, an exciting social business in a great location. Our key speakers for the evening were Dame Diana Brittan, Chair and Janet Morrison, CEO both from Independent Age. The remainder of our invited dinner guests included some of the most influential and outstanding Chairs and CEOs working in the sector today.
As you might gather from the theme, 'Who's the leader: Chairs or CEOs?' The round the table debate was both lively and informative. A wide range of challenging questions designed to stimulate debate were posed by David Gold, CEO of Prospectus. These included:
- Where, functionally, do you believe the CEO provides the most important leadership for an organisation?
- Where do you think there is the greatest potential for confusion in leadership roles between Chair & CEO?
- The CEO and SMT often see the Board as a burden rather than a support group. How can the Chair ensure that the Board adds value and is seen as a positive part of the organisation by the CEO and SMT?
- Some Chair and CEO relationships get too "chummy" due to the need for close working. What are the dangers of this and how can they be overcome?
Our many thanks to Dame Diana Brittan and Janet Morrison for submitting themselves and their professional relationship to such close scrutiny. Thanks also to all of our guests who helped make it an extremely lively and enjoyable evening, and who's comments and insights will be included in our Paper, 'Thoughts on Leadership', due to be published later this year.
