Blogs

Diligent Institute's "What should the role of an individual director be in a crisis situation?" shares perspectives from a number of seasoned directors on individual directors' roles in responding to a crisis, with an emphasis on the value of the company's and the board's advance planning and preparation, as well as practical "real time" tips that can assist other companies in developing a crisis management approach with effective board oversight.

This input from Betsy Atkins, currently a director of Cognizant, Wynn Resorts, SI Green Realty, Schneider Electric, and Volvo Cars, is illustrative of potential learnings from seasoned perspectives:

The role of an individual director is to bring their unique experiences, pattern recognition, scar tissue, and lessons if they've been through a similar crisis. They should also bring their network of contacts and resources in solving the problem.

I also think that before a crisis, in today's world, the board needs a social media response prepared and pre-approved for the ten most likely risks. If it isn't one of those ten, it will be a variant. We've done ERM in the past, identified big enterprise risks and management's response. The immediate, instant responses needed for social media response planning is missing on almost every board. Maybe it's an oil spill, an active shooter situation, a kidnapping, a #metoo incident, or an industrial accident. Regardless of the situation, don't be like United Airlines calling their lawyers two days later and sounding insincere "sorry, we killed the puppy in the overhead." It must be authentic, genuine, and responded to within a couple of hours. Starbucks is the good example by responding to a racial bias incident by announcing companywide training the next day. An individual director can encourage the board to adopt this approach in advance pre-crisis planning.