It comes to your attention that you were not consulted or at the very least, notified in certain decision making. It gets worse… if you were consulted, you would have advised a more prudent approach. You helplessly deposit almost your whole head on the palm of your hand and you wonder why you were left out. Familiar?

Do not rush to despair. Why do I say this?

Well, firstly when you assess your role as an advisor and recognise that your advice can be taken or excluded, it becomes clearer. Accept that you are not a decision maker but also check your bases. Do the rules of engagement entail that your advice should be compulsorily obtained? This would bring you closer to clarity and it becomes easier to discharge your duties upon realizing that you were not consulted.

Secondly, there could have been a reason, plausible or otherwise, for the failure or neglect to seek your advice. If there was a good reason or mere inadvertence, you can probably make some safe approaches to register your input for consideration and/or remedy. On the other hand, if the reason was more clandestine, it would be your cue to step back and apply a more strategic approach to the matter. Sometimes, people are left out of decision making precisely because they may be the lone yet influential voice that may not be aligned to certain desires that may be in the majority among the decision makers. Therefore, it is important to establish if there will be a later opportunity for you to express your views in a non abrasive manner. The downside for an organisation, to this, is when calamity befalls the decision and decision makers are called out for not exercising prudence by seeking and considering your advice. These are some of the risks decision makers may be exposed to when they neglect to seek pertinent input.

In my book, ENCOUNTERS WITH THE INTIMACY OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRACTICE, I allude to what I call “corporate self discipline”, which underscores diligence, ingenuity, soulfulness, curiosity, investment, poise, leverage, intention, normalcy and endurance as qualities one must have to navigate corporate governance landscapes. I find that reaching out to these qualities and what they stand for is a light that shines over the adversity and crossroads that we may find ourselves in.

So…if you are deliberately left out… breath, reflect and pull yourself together…because you are well put together in the first place!