How many times have you heard the phrase “Allow me to put my submission in context…”?
As an actor in the corporate governance sphere, I have learnt that when you succeed at explaining your point in context, it is a victorious occasion in that you would have conquered the complexity and ambiguity that could have otherwise plagued your communication.
Explaining or capturing things in context is an essential skill required by the organisation as it reduces the risk of something being misunderstood. The organisation could face loss because of something being taken out of context and therefore it is a concept that requires active attention and intervention.
As discussed in earlier articles, governors in an organisation are appointed in their positions for the primary purpose of promotion of the success of the organisation. It is therefore incumbent upon them to ensure that as they contribute their respective skills and knowledge with that in mind. This entails that they appreciate the diversity in their grouping and the need to break down their contributions to something that can be digested and deliberated easily by colleagues, notwithstanding that they are not proficient in a certain area of expertise.
A contribution to a discussion about whether or not to undertake a venture, would be irrelevant if it amounts to a lecture about the history of such ventures, when the decision to proceed with the venture was already made and what is on the discussion table is consideration of options of models to adopt. I think that the governors should deliberate in the context of the options and not in understanding the nature of such ventures because that was a foregone conclusion. This saves time that could otherwise be expended on matters that require consideration and decision.
For a creator of the record of business activity, a lot will be said in the governance meeting proceedings, but what is important is how the record captures the business activity. That is why I have deliberately used the word “creator” and not “recorder” as the former would record the deliberations grossly while the latter tends to capture submissions in context, devoid of irrelevance, verbosity and so on. Whereas the record can be loosely termed as a story of what transpired, it is not a drama or action movie. It is an account of deliberations within the context of the business.
In my view, the skills referred to above, being essential to the business, require conscious development. Corporate governance practice is a creature of identified gaps in the way organizations were being operated, that led to corporate scandals. With the inevitability of change it is important that the practice gets more and more refined so as to achieve its objectives.
I hope that thoughts have been provoked on this matter…lets share!
