A great director I served with: Robert F. Patton, his head was always in the game.

• Author: Adams, William W.
• Position: Putting In Place the Right Board for the 21st Century

BOB PATTON was a great director. He practiced law for 30 years in Pittsburgh and was chairman of Union National Corp. (banking company) for six years. He was a director of Armstrong World Industries from 1976 to this year.

I served with Bob on the Armstrong board for 12 years, five of them when I was chairman and president. He was a critiquing supporter, an active listener, a reflective thinker, and a "board balancer."

Bob supported senior management. That is, he trusted top management's purpose, dedication, integrity, and judgment (unlike some directors who assume that they are there to prove that management couldn't possibly think straight without them). He believed in the potential for achieving great results and in taking risks to get them.

Yet, his support was not uncritical. His head was always in the game, and he often questioned the game plan. He would tell the CEO, "You need to think that through again," or ask, "Have you considered the unexpected -- unforeseen success as well as unforeseen difficulties?"

Bob is an active listener. He uses questions to develop a discussion, to test the quality of what others have to say. He is a reflective thinker. It was not unusual for him to call the next day with "I have some additional thoughts about that issue."

As a board balancer, he would bring the group down off a rose-colored high with a warning that there could be a devil in the details. On the other side, he...