January 2024
Chris Clark conducts interviews with leading corporate directors and subject matter experts for Stuart Levine & Associates, a global consulting and leadership development company. The Planet Governance™ interview series features the views of corporate directors, chief executives, and governance experts on timely issues from succession planning to stakeholder activism to cyber resiliency.
This incredibly active corporate director says strong board contributors possess a deep sense of curiosity…
Lawrence X. Taylor brings a diverse perspective to the boardroom combining deep financial expertise, strategy, and governance to deliver thoughtful questions and insights that help drive informed decisions. Lawrence is an SEC qualified financial expert, has chaired an audit committee and is a frequent panelist and article contributor on board governance and board related issues. He has guided organizations through complex restructurings, acquisitions, corporate development activities, and capital transactions totaling over $20 billion.
He is President of Taylor Strategy Group advising companies on strategy, finance and board governance matters and currently serves on the boards of four companies. Lawrence is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and is NACD Directorship Certified. He was also recognized as a “Director to Watch 2020” by the Private Company Director Magazine. Lawrence is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.
Lawrence X. Taylor
Chris: How do you identify the strongest board contributors?
Lawrence: In my experience, I can think of several traits or themes of what I’ve noticed over the years of strong board contributors. One trait is being an active listener. Strong contributors tend to listen more than they tend to speak. We all hear, but we don’t always listen. An active listener really tries to understand not only the direct statements from someone, but the context and nuances of what they’re saying and that’s important in the boardroom.
Strong board contributors also possess a deep sense of curiosity and a desire to learn and understand. As a practical matter, everyone in the board room is smart. Chances are you wouldn’t be there if you weren’t. Being “smart”, in and of itself, is really overrated. However, being curious, asking thoughtful, insightful, sometimes probing questions, especially in the boardroom, or for that matter in life in general, is far more valuable that being smart. The better the questions, the better the solutions.
Further, strong board contributors generally don’t reply to someone’s statement with a statement of their own. If they do, they generally acknowledge and/or give credit to something another board member said as a segue to their own thoughts or positions. Additionally, strong board contributors will oftentimes reply to someone’s statement with a question. Really strong board contributors will often phrase their position in the form of a question. Why? Because it doesn’t come across as opinionated and it fosters conversation – you are engaging others to chime in with their thoughts on an answer.
How do you become a strong contributor? Obviously, come prepared for meetings. What I mean by being prepared is being a board member who asks thoughtful, relevant, probing questions, in a respectful way that engages both fellow board members and management. That helps to foster conversations and encouragement of diversity of thought, both at the full board and committee level. This involves more than just pre-reading the board book and related materials. It means doing the research so you can be informed and up to date on industry and sector issues, being up to date on local and national economic issues and being aware of potential vendor or partner issues that may positively or negatively impact the company or the company’s strategic plan. Strong board contributors are constantly thinking about ways to improve the company. Not from a hands-on perspective, but from a strategic perspective. They are always thinking in terms of “how” and “why”.
Chris: What is the most common board succession/refreshment mistake?
Lawrence: Not being completely honest about ourselves or our fellow board members. Boards, companies, and people all evolve and change. The skill sets or board composition that served the board and company well, say five or seven years ago, may not be the same skillset the board or company needs today. Self-assessment is hard. No one likes to do it, because it involves looking at ourselves from an independent, third-party perspective and being objective. Am I really contributing? Are my skills what the board/company needs today. Do I still align with the company’s vision, mission, culture, strategy? Same holds true for when we evaluate our peers on the board. It’s hard, but necessary.
The second board succession/refreshment mistake is not bringing in a third-party to help facilitate the process. Third parties can help provide clarity and objectivity.
Third, not having enough diversity of thought, gender diversity or racial diversity. It’s paramount that boards have diverse thoughts and perspectives. Women and minorities bring a unique perspective based on their experiences. Our aperture is different. There are several studies that attest to the enhanced performance of companies with gender/racial diversity on the board. Additionally, sometimes, boards, by construct or default, can be populated by people who are all subject matter experts in the particular industry or sector of that company. You may very well be missing out on the perspective and thoughts of someone who does not come from a retail background but who can nonetheless draw upon experiences to help facilitate or provide clarity or a different viewpoint to help solve an issue.
In sum, when it comes to board succession or refreshment, top of mind awareness should always be focused on what’s best for the company. How is the company best served by the having the right board composition.
Chris: Lawrence, thank you for sharing your board insights and for being part of Planet Governance.
Lawrence X. Taylor brings a diverse perspective to the boardroom combining deep financial expertise, strategy, and governance to deliver thoughtful questions and insights that help drive informed decisions. Having worked and advised in public, private and family-owned businesses across a variety of industries, he is able to draw upon a wide range of experiences which enables him to collaborate effectively and engage with fellow board members and senior management. Lawrence is an SEC qualified financial expert, has chaired an audit committee and is a frequent panelist and article contributor on board governance and board related issues. As a C-level executive, advisor, and board member with more than 30 years of business experience, he has guided organizations through complex restructurings, acquisitions, corporate development activities and capital transactions totaling over $20 billion.
He is President of Taylor Strategy Group advising companies on strategy, finance and board governance matters and currently serves on the boards of four companies. Over the last 25 years, he has served on the boards and committees of multiple public and private companies, including being elected as an independent director to the boards of three companies to help facilitate Chapter 11 proceedings. Lawrence is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and is NACD Directorship Certified. He was also recognized as a “Director to Watch 2020” by the Private Company Director Magazine.
Lawrence is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. A native of New Orleans, he is an avid cook, woodturner, hiker, tennis player and golfer and resides in Litchfield Park, AZ.
Chris Clark joined Stuart Levine & Associates as a senior consultant after a distinguished career at the National Association of Corporate Directors (“NACD”). He is known for his prominent role in the creation of NACD’s “The Power of Difference”, “The Leading Minds of Compensation” and “The Leading Minds of Governance” conference series, “The Directorship 100”, and NACD Private Company Directorship.
