How To Design Boards That Actually Work | Grit in the Boardroom

The best boards do not just make decisions. They create the specific conditions required for strategic decision-making, rigorous challenge, and flawless implementation.

In this episode of Grit in the Boardroom, host Erika Eliasson-Norris sits down with Patrick Dunne OBE for an masterclass in leadership dynamics. As one of the UK’s leading voices on board effectiveness, corporate governance, and executive decision-making, Patrick brings decades of rare chair perspective. He has guided boards, chairs, CEOs, and investors through growth under pressure across listed companies, private equity-backed businesses, charities, and public organisations.

Together, Erika and Patrick peel back the layers of C-suite operations to explore what truly separates effective boards from dysfunctional ones, how chairs can cultivate an environment where constructive challenge is welcomed, and why the process of a decision often matters far more than the final vote itself.

Drawing on his experience advising thousands of directors throughout his career, Patrick shares deeply practical governance lessons on the subtle boardroom dynamics that ultimately dictate organisational success.

What you'll learn in this episode: The Critical Anchor: Why the relationship between the Chair and the CEO is the ultimate foundation of board effectiveness.

Cultivating Safe Disruption: How boards can deliberately create cultures that encourage constructive challenge, rapid feedback, and continuous improvement.

Decisions as a Process: Why major boardroom decisions should never be treated as a single event, but as a multi-stage strategic runway.

Appetite vs. Tolerance: The crucial difference between risk appetite and risk tolerance—and why boards dangerously confuse the two in risk management.

Elevating Strategy: How directors can drastically improve strategic decision-making through better preparation and intentional stakeholder engagement.

The Reality of Execution: Why implementation failures can be just as damaging to an organisation as poor leadership decisions.

The Soft Skills of Hard Power: The vital role of emotional intelligence, deep listening, and constructive friction in executive leadership.

Next-Gen Governance: How introducing Next Generation Boards can radically improve succession planning, organisational insight, and business resilience.

The Portfolio Pivot: What CEOs must critically consider before transitioning into a non-executive director (NED) portfolio career.

Meeting Mechanics: Why subtle board culture and meeting room dynamics have a disproportionate impact on macroscopic organisational performance.

About The Guest: Patrick Dunne OBE is Chair of Boardelta and a globally recognised authority on board effectiveness, leadership, and corporate governance. During more than two decades at 3i Group, he built one of the UK's most influential board development programmes, helping appoint and support thousands of directors across portfolio companies around the world. He has advised organisations across the private, public, and third sectors, contributed to major governance reviews, and is the author of Boards, an award-winning guide to board leadership and effectiveness. Patrick is widely respected for his highly practical approach to governance, leadership development, and helping boards perform at their best when the stakes are highest.

About the host Erika Eliasson-Norris is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Beyond Governance and Governance Assessor to the United Kingdom’s Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry.

About Grit in the Boardroom: Grit in the Boardroom is a bi-weekly podcast where Erika Eliasson-Norris sits down with the best in business for executive interviews. She and her guests explore corporate governance beyond the sealed doors of the C-suite. As Governance Assessor for the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, the largest public inquiry in UK history, Erika Eliasson-Norris is helping shape accountability, governance reform, and corporate oversight across the UK.

About Beyond Governance: Beyond Governance provides on-demand company secretarial support, governance advisory, and governance training to boards, Company Secretaries, and General Counsel. They help organisations strengthen governance, manage risk, and support critical projects without the need for permanent hires.

Learn more here: https://beyondgovernance.com/

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