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  • © 2019

Leading a Board

Chairs’ Practices Across Europe

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Presents what board chairs actually do, rather than what they should do
  • Includes an unprecedented sample – 200 chairs, directors, shareholders and CEOs from 8 countries
  • Describes chair practices in diverse European cultures from UK to Turkey

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
  2. Work of a Chair in Europe: Context, Content and Evolution

    • Stanislav Shekshnia, Veronika Zagieva
    Pages 1-28
  3. The United Kingdom: Indirect Leadership

    • Stanislav Shekshnia
    Pages 29-55
  4. Switzerland: Diversity and Diplomacy

    • Rolf Frey
    Pages 77-93
  5. Denmark: Attentive Master of the Boardroom

    • Steen Buchreitz Jensen, Stanislav Shekshnia
    Pages 95-122
  6. Italy: Alignment for Effectiveness

    • Anna Zanardi
    Pages 123-138
  7. Smooth Operator: The Chair as the Drive Belt of the German Governance System

    • Elena Denisova-Schmidt, Peter Firnhaber
    Pages 139-160
  8. Turkey: Between Traditional and Modern Leadership

    • Hande Yaşargil, Elena Denisova-Schmidt
    Pages 161-180
  9. Russia: Powerful Moderation

    • Ekaterina Ryasentseva, Veronika Zagieva
    Pages 181-202
  10. “Top Fives” of Chairing a Board in Europe

    • Stanislav Shekshnia, Veronika Zagieva
    Pages 203-215
  11. The Future Role of the Chair in Europe

    • Filipe Morais, Andrew Kakabadse
    Pages 217-229
  12. Back Matter

    Pages 231-250

About this book

This book represents the first cross-country study of the work of board chairs in Europe. It includes unique data collected through interviews with almost 200 experienced board chairs and their key stakeholders – board members, CEOs and shareholders.


The book focuses on what board leaders actually do, rather than what they should do, and elaborates on a conceptual contingency framework for understanding chairs’ work in Europe. This includes a comprehensive list of chair practices – iterative behaviour strategies for getting things done, comparisons of contexts for chairs’ work and practices among nine countries, and identification of cross-European and country-specific trends that will shape the work of board leaders in the next decade.


The book will benefit incumbent and future chairs, directors, shareholders, CEOs, executives and regulators in developing a systemic understanding of the work of a chair in the European business context and gaining insights into how the leader of the board deals with specific challenges.


Reviews

Leading a Board provides highly relevant insights on dealing with challenges every chairman faces – engaging directors, motivating executives, communicating with different stakeholders. (Dr. Andreas Jacobs, Chairman of the INSEAD Board, Member of the Board of Jacobs Holding AG)

An insightful, well-researched and crafted book, which demystifies the practice and art of good Chairmanship. It compares and contrasts the roles across Europe clearly articulating similarities and differences. It contains a wealth of information drawn from the experience of seasoned Chairman. A must read for both existing and aspiring Chairman. A key insight is the centrality of high EQ as well as IQ skillfully brought to bear to orchestrate the individual and collective contributions essential to effective performance and good governance in a rapidly changing world. (Helen Pitcher OBE, Governance Expert and Chairman Public, Private and Charitable Sectors)

This book is INSEAD doing what it does best. It distils the experience and wisdom of contributors from several diverse cultures and in the process provides invaluable education and stimulation. A “must read” for anyone contemplating taking on the responsibilities of chairing a Board. (Bryan K. Sanderson, CBE, Chairman and Founding Director of Home Renaissance Foundation, Chair of the Low Pay Commission and Chairman of Florence Nightingale Foundation)

Editors and Affiliations

  • INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France

    Stanislav Shekshnia

  • Ward Howell Talent Equity Institute, Moscow, Russia

    Veronika Zagieva

About the editors

Stanislav Shekshnia is a Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD, a Director of the “Leading from the Chair” executive development programme and a Senior Partner at Ward Howell. His research concentrates on leadership, leadership development and effective governance in regions and organizations.

Veronika Zagieva is a Director of Ward Howell Talent Equity Institute, an internal research and development division of the Ward Howell Group. Her research is focused on leadership development, CEO effectiveness, CEO succession and board dynamics.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Leading a Board

  • Book Subtitle: Chairs’ Practices Across Europe

  • Editors: Stanislav Shekshnia, Veronika Zagieva

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3197-8

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Business and Management, Business and Management (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-13-3197-8Published: 21 May 2019

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXI, 250

  • Number of Illustrations: 12 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Business Strategy/Leadership, Careers in Business and Management

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access