Every Board ends up with a Boardroom bully, its just a matter of time. The bully can become loud and belligerent. Board members can become intimidated. Good decisions may be avoided and flawed decisions may be pushed through.
So, what do you do?
A bully tends to back off when someone (especially the Board Chair) speaks up and says for example: If you have concerns about a process or decision made by the Board, we will hear them, but we need you to express them in a manner that shows respect for the Board…….
The Board Chair may need someone to ‘role play’ this with, in advance….. We all know who the bully’s are and what gets them going. How and when we respond to them makes the big difference.
No, it doesn’t work all of the time but it does work most of the time. If you need a plan B give me a quick call, we can probably solve it in a quick conversation. Life is too short to put up with Boardroom bully.
If you don’t have a Boardroom bully, congratulations. If you stick around long enough, you will have a Boardroom bully show up!
