“If you think training is expensive, try ignorance “ – Peter Drucker

The most effective organisations invest in their Boards in terms of continual Learning & Development.  This helps optimize Board effectiveness thereby drive an organisation’s success.  Amongst the strategic reasons for continual learning in the boardroom are the following:

• Board members are reminded of their role and responsibilities;
• Helps build Board members into cohesive teams;
• Helps keep organisations safe and legal;
• Ensures Board members are using “reasonable care, skill and diligence “ in the execution of their mandate;
• Helps motivate and retain good Board members ; and
• Helps increase innovation and improve Board performance.

 

BLZ has a suite of high-impact courses and programmes that –

• Help Board members learn about their role, risks and opportunities;
• Enhance corporate governance best practices in organisations;
• Offer opportunities for interacting with “birds of a feather” through networking; and
• Provide opportunities for coming up with concrete Action Plans for Boards

 

The Learning & Development Solutions on offer are listed below.

a. Customised Board Induction

Good corporate governance requires that new Boards and Board members are provided with support and information to assist them in discharging their governance responsibilities.

It is inefficient and unproductive for a Board to leave board members to find their feet through trial and error.  All new Boards and board members should receive an introduction to the workings of an organisation, their role and responsibilities and the organisation’s administrative arrangements.

b. Customised Governance Training and Refreshers

Well-governed organisations worldwide perform better in commercial terms.  Good governance starts with a well-functioning Board of Directors and training in corporate governance is a strategic enabler.

c. NextGen Corporate Secretary Bootcamp and Refreshers

In modern business practice, Corporate Secretaries are catalysts for good corporate governance.  They are now commonly described as “Governance Advisors”.  The “NextGen Corporate Secretary Bootcamp and Refreshers” prepare them for this strategic role in the organisation.

d. Annual NextGen Board Leadership Programme (Modular Form, Block Release, Mid-Week and Weekend Options)

This programme immerses delegates into the latest thinking on Board Leadership. Concepts and available tools as well as process considerations of Board leadership are addressed.  The programme has arisen out of a realisation that there is a critical need in Zimbabwe for robust board leadership that will pull organisations, both private and public, out of the current economic quagmire into a promising future- positioning them for competitiveness in this ruthlessly competitive global environment.  The focus under this programme is on learning the technical aspects of forward-looking board leadership.

The programme will also take a deep dive into the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act.

e. Annual Forward – Looking Board Leadership Retreat

“Governance arguably suffers most when boards spend too much time looking in the rear view mirror and not enough (time) scanning the road ahead” – Christian Casal and Christian Casper, February 2014 McKinsey Quarterly

This Board Leadership Retreat has arisen out of a  recognition that there is a critical need in Zimbabwe to enhance the technical savviness of Board Members and Company Secretaries in Public and Private Enterprises, including Local Authorities and NGOs, not only in building effective boards and running them following good corporate governance practices but also in spending a greater proportion of their time shaping an agenda for the future for their organisation – savviness crucial for the survival of their entities and for sustainable growth in this ruthlessly competitive global environment.

f. Board Leadership Breakfast Seminars

No business leader, no matter how talented, can know everything about everything.  Attending Breakfast Seminars with talented and experienced speakers gives one a chance to learn from those who have seen it all.  Besides, breakfast seminars provide opportunities to make connections and open new doors.  They also give one a chance to get some inspiration from a wide range of people with fresh ideas and new perspectives.