The Handbook of Board Governance

9The Criticality of Board Director Team Intelligence (TQ) in Economic Value Creation

Solange Charas, PhD

CEO of Charas Consulting; Chair, Audit Committee, Bakken Resources; Chair, Remuneration Committee, Able Energy; Adjunct Professor, NYU School of Professional Studies

Let's do a little experiment. Think about a time when you were on a successful team. What's the first thing you remember? Most likely, you think of how you felt—the positive experience you had when you were on this great team. The majority of directors I interviewed on this topic reported a general sense of well-being, passion, optimism, camaraderie, and high energy. They described team results as an afterthought, as it's a given that high-performing teams have a long list of accomplishments. The surprising finding is that these directors remain in contact with team members long after the team has been disbanded—as they want to extend this connected feeling. In contrast, now think of a time when you were on a dysfunctional team. What experiences are you reliving? Most directors report feelings of frustration, disappointment, impatience, and powerlessness. Moreover, directors report that they have been on many more dysfunctional teams than high-performing teams in their careers—not just in the boardroom, but in their fulltime positions. Why is the team experience so powerful in evoking both positive and negative feelings and the corresponding results, and why are high-performing teams so rare?

Intuitively and ...