Jay W. Lorsch

Robert C. Clark

Não é exagero dizer que a governança das empresas passou do santuário interno da diretoria para o centro das atenções do discurso público. Atualmente, é exigido mais dos diretores independentes: espera-se que eles garantam a conformidade de suas empresas com um conjunto de regulamentações em constante evolução, evitem irregularidades executivas na aprovação e apaziguem a fome interminável dos acionistas e de Wall Street por resultados positivos de curto prazo.

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Reprint: R0804G
These days, boards are working overtime to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley and other governance requirements meant to protect shareholders from executive wrongdoing. But as directors have become more hands-on with compliance, they&#8217;ve become more hands-off with long-range planning. That exposes corporations and their shareholders to another&#8212;perhaps even greater&#8212;risk, say professors Lorsch, of Harvard Business School, and Clark, of Harvard Law School.
Boards are giving the long term short shrift for a number of reasons. Despite much heavier workloads, directors haven&#8217;t rethought their patterns of operating&#8212;their meetings, committees, and other interactions. Compliance has changed their relationship with executives, however, turning directors into micromanagers who closely probe executives&#8217; actions instead of providing high-level guidance. Meanwhile, the pressure to meet quarterly expectations intensifies.
Directors need to do a better job of balancing compliance with forward thinking. Boardroom effectiveness hinges most on the quality of directors and their interactions, the authors&#8217; research shows. Directors must apply their wisdom broadly, handling compliance work more efficiently and staying out of the weeds on strategic issues. Using their power with management to evangelize for long-term planning, they must take the lead on discussions about financial infrastructure, talent development, and strategy. Reserving sacrosanct time for such discussions, as Philips Electronics&#8217; board does at annual retreats, is an effective practice: After one recent retreat, Philips decided to exit the semiconductor business, where it was losing ground. Individual directors also must not shy away from asking tough questions and acting as catalysts on critical issues, such as grooming a successor to the CEO. In short, directors must learn to lead from the boardroom.

Leading from the Boardroom

Reimpressão: R0804G Atualmente, os conselhos estão trabalhando horas extras para cumprir a Sarbanes-Oxley e outros requisitos de governança destinados a proteger os acionistas de irregularidades executivas. Mas, à medida que os diretores se tornam mais ativos com a conformidade, eles se tornam mais inativos com o planejamento de longo prazo. Isso expõe as corporações e seus acionistas a outro risco — talvez até maior —, dizem os professores Lorsch, da Harvard Business School, e Clark, da Harvard Law School. Os conselhos estão dando pouca atenção a longo prazo por vários motivos. Apesar das cargas de trabalho muito mais pesadas, os diretores não repensaram seus padrões de operação — suas reuniões, comitês e outras interações. No entanto, a conformidade mudou seu relacionamento com os executivos, transformando os diretores em microgerentes que investigam de perto as ações dos executivos em vez de fornecer orientação de alto nível. Enquanto isso, a pressão para atender às expectativas trimestrais se intensifica. Os diretores precisam fazer um trabalho melhor para equilibrar a conformidade com a visão de futuro. A eficácia da diretoria depende mais da qualidade dos diretores e de suas interações, mostra a pesquisa dos autores. Os diretores devem aplicar sua sabedoria de forma ampla, lidar com o trabalho de conformidade com mais eficiência e ficar fora do controle sobre questões estratégicas. Usando seu poder com a gerência para promover o planejamento de longo prazo, eles devem liderar as discussões sobre infraestrutura financeira, desenvolvimento de talentos e estratégia. Reservar um tempo sagrado para essas discussões, como a diretoria da Philips Electronics faz em retiros anuais, é uma prática eficaz: após um recuo recente, a Philips decidiu sair do negócio de semicondutores, onde estava perdendo terreno. Diretores individuais também não devem se esquivar de fazer perguntas difíceis e agir como catalisadores em questões críticas, como preparar um sucessor para o CEO. Em resumo, os diretores devem aprender a liderar a partir da sala de reuniões.

Liderando a partir da sala de reuni&otilde;es

Reprint: R0804G These days, boards are working overtime to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley and other governance requirements meant to protect shareholders from executive wrongdoing. But as directors have become more hands-on with compliance, they’ve become more hands-off with long-range planning. That exposes corporations and their shareholders to another—perhaps even greater—risk, say professors Lorsch, of Harvard Business School, and Clark, of Harvard Law School. Boards are giving the long term short shrift for a number of reasons. Despite much heavier workloads, directors haven’t rethought their patterns of operating—their meetings, committees, and other interactions. Compliance has changed their relationship with executives, however, turning directors into micromanagers who closely probe executives’ actions instead of providing high-level guidance. Meanwhile, the pressure to meet quarterly expectations intensifies. Directors need to do a better job of balancing compliance with forward thinking. Boardroom effectiveness hinges most on the quality of directors and their interactions, the authors’ research shows. Directors must apply their wisdom broadly, handling compliance work more efficiently and staying out of the weeds on strategic issues. Using their power with management to evangelize for long-term planning, they must take the lead on discussions about financial infrastructure, talent development, and strategy. Reserving sacrosanct time for such discussions, as Philips Electronics’ board does at annual retreats, is an effective practice: After one recent retreat, Philips decided to exit the semiconductor business, where it was losing ground. Individual directors also must not shy away from asking tough questions and acting as catalysts on critical issues, such as grooming a successor to the CEO. In short, directors must learn to lead from the boardroom.

Liderando a partir da sala de reuniões

Resumo.

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