The Changing Role of 21st Century Chairmen

If you are, or are thinking of becoming, the Chairman of a board, the following paper is probably an essential read! I have included a few snippets as well as a link to the full paper.

Recommended read: Heidrick & Struggles insightful paper on the changing role of 21st Century Chairmen:

http://www.heidrick.com/PublicationsReports/PublicationsReports/HS_PurposefulPartners.pdf

"Chairmanship is a totally different job to anything that one might have done up to that time-it is distinct from any other form of senior business leadership"

'The 'safe pair of hands' mentality is not good enough any more"

The role of chairman is often seen as a prestigious-but gentle-way to complete a distinguished business career: the chairman is a respected name who oversees board meetings and reassures shareholders while the executive team gets on with the real business of running the company. Recent high-profile failures have highlighted the complexity and risk of running a large listed multinational business, prompting calls for tougher corporate governance.

Do you have any thoughts or observations to add? If so please comment.