PERSONAL

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
BOARD
LECTURE 6
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Personal characteristics of board members

• board commitment to board activities and effectiveness motivation for becoming a board
member factor analysis of personality traits of directors: − application of the Five Factor
Model of personality traits in a boardroom setting
• benefits of understanding the personal characteristics of directors − applying personality
theory to inform and effect change in board dynamics
• Reasons why evaluation of the board and its members does not provide a complete
indicator of board effectiveness,impact of individual behaviours on team performance and
instability of personal characteristics measures
 Personal characteristics of board members

• Dedicated and Committed. Being a board member requires a high level of

dedication and commitment to responsibilities that extends beyond
attending board meetings regularly.
• Able to lead and influence others
• Straightforward and impartial
• Knowledgeable and an insatiable learner
• Values discretion and confidentiality
 Leadership competences

Leading the organization:

• -managing change
• -solving problems and making decisions
• -managing politics and influencing others
• -taking risks and innovating
• -setting vision and strategy
• -managing the work
• -enhancing business skills and knowledge
• -understanding and navigating the organizatio
 Leadership competences

Leading the self:

• -demonstrating ethics and integrity
• -displaying drive and purpose
• -exhibiting leadership stature
• -increasing your capacity to learn
• -managing yourself
• -increasing self-awareness
• -developing adaptability
 Leadership competences

Leading others:
• -communicating effectively
• -developing others
• -valuing diversity and difference
• -building and maintaining relationships
• -managing effective teams and work groups
 GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COMPETENCES

• Open-minded and flexible in thought and tactics

• Cultural interest and sensitivity
• Able to deal with complexity
• Resilient, resourceful, optimistic and energetic
• Honesty and Integrity
• Stable personal life
• value-added technical or business skills
 LEADERSHIP COMPETENCES IN THE
CURRENT ERA

• COMPUTER LITERATE
• CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE
• EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
• LEARNING
 MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY OF
DIRECTORS
• PERSONALITY TEST
BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TEST DIMENSIONS
• OPENNESS
• Conscientiousness
• Extraversion
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism
 OPENNESS

• Openness
• This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight. People who
are high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests. They are
curious about the world and other people and eager to learn new things and
enjoy new experiences.
• People who are high in this trait tend to be more adventurous and creative.
People low in this trait are often much more traditional and may struggle with
abstract thinking.
 Conscientiousness

• Standard features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness,

good impulse control, and goal-directed behaviors.
• Highly conscientious people tend to be organized and mindful of details.
They plan ahead, think about how their behavior affects others, and are
mindful of deadlines.
 EXTRAVERSION

• Extraversion (or extroversion) is characterized by excitability, sociability,

talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional
expressiveness.
• People who are high in extraversion are outgoing and tend to gain energy in
social situations. Being around other people helps them feel energized and
excited.
 AGREEABLENESS

• This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, kindness,

affection, and other pro-social behaviors People who are high in
agreeableness tend to be more cooperative while those low in this trait tend
to be more competitive and sometimes even manipulative.
 Neuroticism

• Neuroticism is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional

instability.
• Individuals who are high in this trait tend to experience mood swings,
anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Those low in this trait tend to be more
stable and emotionally resilient.
 Why Current Measures Are Ineffective

• Current measure focus too much of concentration on productivity and

performance of organization
• Personality measures still have their drawbacks and some may give
untruthful answers in the questionnaire
• Characters are quite difficult to measure –JOHARI’S WINDOW
 ROLE OF CS

• Benefits of understanding the personal characteristics of directors

• Better understanding of individual characteristics
• This leads to predicting behaviour, especially when triggered