Boards Should Welcome Diverse Viewpoints

Governance professionals must do more to bring those outside the boardroom into the conversation, says Henry Ker.

'If everybody is thinking and behaving in exactly the same way, it's utterly pointless.'

This is the view of one of the board members interviewed by Andrew Kakabadse for ICSA's research on conflict and tension in the boardroom. It is also one echoed by Pavita Cooper of the CMI in our lead interview this month, as she discusses the problems facing organisations with a lack of diversity.

'Those cultures have become cults,' she says. 'Everyone thinks the same, acts the same, they do not welcome any difference from the outside, and those businesses are often at risk.'