The secret sauce in board leadership: successful boards achieve potency through the 'chemistry' of combining the right elements in the right way at the right time.

• Author: Mayer, Leslie G.
• Position: BOARD LEADERSHIP

AS A NATION, WE HAVE EMBARKED this year on a collective journey filled with uncertainty about the future. This past fall, amidst global economic crisis, America chose between two very different leaders.

The outcome, now clear, will shape our country for years to come. What factors determinded this fate, for our nation and for you? Reflect back on November 2008: You've just closed the curtain in the voting booth. It all came down to this moment. What sealed your vote?

Did character trump acumen? Behavior trump rhetoric? Experience trump growth potential?

Certainly, we'd all agree that each of these qualities is important. We vote for them in politics, we hire for them in business, we recruit for them on boards. Instinctively, we understand that if the right elements are present in the proper proportions, they catalyze to bring about extraordinary outcomes.

As business psychologists, we have observed that five elements, properly apportioned, consistently produce the strongest leaders and most effective boards. The elements include Acumen, Behavior, Character, Development, and Emotional Intelligence. An analysis of the interaction among these elements is the key to making board selection and evaluation more meaningful and actionable.

Gravitational pull

On the surface, it may appear that leaders and boards use different tools, approaches and questions for evaluation of effectiveness. However, we note that the same five elements are consistently and universally considered. The reason for this gravitational pull is rooted in psychology: we all share a fundamental need for safety in order to operate productively. What does "safety" mean in today's business world? In addition to our basic need to feel physically safe, we require emotional and psychological safety in relationships and in leaders as well. If we're burdened with anxiety about the competence, stability, or trustworthiness of the person sitting next to us, we are simply unable to work effectively--with comfort or openness. Acumen, Behavior, Character, Development, and Emotional Intelligence form the foundational structure for all healthy leadership bodies.

When we agree to bring a new director to the table or to be held mutually accountable for our actions and decisions, we reflexively scan for the five elements that put us in "safe company." This internal calibration is particularly important to boards, where a high degree of faith and assurance in one's peers is paramount to effective and collaborative decision making. Why? Because the most important function of board leadership is to create value by...