Build a Better Board

• Published in: MIT Sloan management review pp. 1 - 3
• Main Authors: Peterson, Randall S, Falcáo, Pedro Fontes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 01-09-2024
• Subjects: Boards of directors; Committees; Corporate governance; Meetings
• ISSN: 1532-8937

Companies benefit when they recognize board committees' important role in corporate governance. The phrase "effective corporate governance" may conjure up the image of a full board of directors sitting around a table, but committees are where most of the real work of the board happens. Committees are the small groups whose work remains out of the spotlight; they are where people have the opportunity to ask questions, trade-offs can be considered, actual debate happens, and recommendations are formulated to be presented to the entire board. Because they are small groups, committees are also an essential mechanism for getting more input from each individual director. Life sciences startups create science committees to focus the organization on ensuring that a regulatory protocol is followed, for example, or a company might establish an ad hoc technology committee to monitor the overhaul and replacement of its information management systems.