MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Build a Better Board

  • 5m
  • Pedro Fontes Falcão, Randall S. Peterson
  • MIT Sloan Management Review
  • 2024

Companies benefit when they recognize board committees’ important role in corporate governance.

The phrase “effective corporate governance” may conjure up the image of a full board of directors sitting around a table, but committees are where most of the real work of the board happens. Committees are the small groups whose work remains out of the spotlight; they are where people have the opportunity to ask questions, trade-offs can be considered, actual debate happens, and recommendations are formulated to be presented to the entire board. Because they are small groups, committees are also an essential mechanism for getting more input from each individual director. That is why most directors spend far more time in committees than in full board meetings.

About the Author

Randall S. Peterson is a professor of organizational behavior and is academic director of the Leadership Institute at London Business School. Pedro Fontes Falcão is an associate professor of negotiation at University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL) and codirector of ISCTE Executive Education’s Executive MBA.

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  • MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Build a Better Board