Praesta’s Board Effectiveness and Development service supports boards in doing the right work, on the right agenda, with the right information, in the right way. It is designed for Chairs, executive and non‑executive directors of listed and private corporations, government agencies and non‑profits.
Board Effectiveness and Development
What are board performance reviews?
Understanding effectiveness in governance, decision making and culture
Praesta Board Performance Reviews help boards understand how effective they are in governance, decision making and culture, and where they need to develop next. Each review explores whether the board is focusing on the right strategic questions, using high‑quality data, and adding value through its oversight of strategy, risk, performance and culture.
A typical review process combines:
- Briefing conversations with the Chair and Company Secretary.
- Confidential electronic questionnaires on board time, priorities, knowledge and culture.
- In‑depth interviews with all directors and key executives.
- Observation of at least one board meeting.
- Review of 12 months of agendas, board papers and relevant regulatory correspondence and related board documents such as the risk register and board skills matrix.
Future-focussed review report
Findings are brought together in a future‑focused report for the Chair and board, with clear, practical recommendations and a facilitated discussion to reach consensus on a board development plan. The review looks at four key dimensions:
- Commissioning – clarity about stakeholders, expectations, board mandate and composition.
- Clarifying – how well the board shapes strategy, priorities and risk appetite.
- Co‑creating – the dynamics, teamwork and behaviour that make the board more than the sum of its parts.
- Connecting – how the board engages with executives, committees and wider stakeholders.
What is board development?
Helping boards and directors to perform more effectively
A review is only the starting point. Board development at Praesta focuses on helping individual directors and the board as a whole build the skills and mindset needed to stay relevant and effective in a changing environment, not just refine what worked in the past. Development work can include tailored board workshops, individual coaching for directors, and ongoing support to embed new ways of working.
Key development areas typically involve:
- Governance and strategic perspective
Working around how the board understands its governance role, committee structures and director responsibilities, while shifting more time and attention towards long‑term value, strategy and succession rather than today’s operational management issues. - Analytical thinking, data‑driven and collective decision making
Working around how directors interrogate information, ask the right questions and avoid groupthink, so that decisions are based on insight, diverse perspectives and clear trade‑offs. This often includes refining the quality of board papers and dashboards, and how the board reaches and records collective decisions. - Self‑awareness and boardroom behaviour
Working around each director’s impact, triggers and default roles in the boardroom, and how these influence group dynamics, both conscious and unconscious. Development here may draw on systemic and psychodynamic ideas to illuminate patterns, while staying focused on practical shifts in behaviour. - Sustainability integration
Supporting boards to integrate sustainability, ESG and long‑term stakeholder impact into strategy, risk oversight and performance discussions, rather than treating them as a separate topic. This includes working with non‑financial data and future‑oriented scenarios. - Change management and succession
Working around how the board oversees major change and approaches succession planning for the CEO, executives and the board itself in a serious, structured way. The emphasis is on the organisation’s future leadership needs over the next 5–10 years, not just the current structure. - Ethics and decision making in a digital age
Exploring the new challenges around ethics, risk and decision making arising from technological and digital developments such as AI, data analytics and automation, and how boards can set clear principles and oversight mechanisms in these areas. - Mentoring and partnering with executives
Working around how Chairs and non‑executive directors mentor, challenge and support CEOs and executives without slipping into management, maintaining clear boundaries while adding maximum value.
How to develop as a relevant director today?
From executive to effective director
Praesta’s board development work places particular emphasis on transitions into and through board roles. Directors are supported to leave behind patterns that served them as executives and to inhabit the different stance required of an effective director: more questioning than doing, more future‑focused than operational, more collective than individual.
The work often centres on:
- Working around how board‑level group dynamics and power structures are read, including what is not being said.
- Working around how unconscious processes, loyalties and fears may shape board decisions, especially under pressure.
- Holding a steady focus on succession, culture and the organisation’s long‑term future, even when short‑term issues demand attention.
Through this integrated approach to board performance review and development, Praesta helps boards, directors, executives and owners enhance governance, sharpen judgement and create the conditions for sustainable organisational success.
What it’s like to work with us
An energising experience
We believe that effective leaders, teams and Boards really matter. So, when you come to us, you’ll find only highly trained coaches with experience at senior organisational levels to leave you feeling uplifted, energised and ready to enter a fresh chapter in which you become the author of your own success.
Start the conversation
Our work always begins with you. Get in touch so that we can learn more about you, your needs, and your goals.