High-Performance Boards Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Board Directors, Board Chairs and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CG-045

Before you join: Participants should have experience working with a board, board committee, governing body or senior executive team.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Boards are expected to set direction, test strategy, protect the organisation and hold executive management to account without taking over management’s role. When responsibilities are unclear, information is weak or challenge is muted, boards can approve poorly tested decisions, miss emerging risks and lose stakeholder confidence. These issues affect listed companies, public bodies, banks, NGOs, state-owned enterprises and family-owned firms alike.

This course develops the practices behind effective board performance. Participants examine board purpose, director duties, composition, committee structures, chairing, decision quality, strategic oversight, risk governance and financial scrutiny. They learn how to improve board papers, run productive meetings, use constructive challenge, assess board effectiveness and turn evaluation findings into measurable improvement actions. The course also addresses culture, conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, stakeholder accountability and crisis governance.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with cases drawn from regulated, commercial and mission-led organisations. Participants analyse board mandates, meeting packs, risk reports, committee terms of reference and evaluation evidence; work through boardroom decision simulations; and compare approaches with peers. Each participant leaves with a practical board effectiveness improvement pack containing reusable templates, diagnostic tools and a 90-day action plan for their own board or governing body.

The course suits directors, senior executives and governance professionals who already work with boards and need a structured way to strengthen board conduct, oversight and decision-making.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess board mandates, reserved matters and delegations against governance responsibilities
  • Design a board skills matrix and succession approach linked to strategic needs
  • Apply chairing and challenge techniques that improve boardroom decision quality
  • Produce board papers, dashboards and decision logs suitable for director scrutiny
  • Test strategic proposals using scenario planning, strategic KPIs and capital allocation questions
  • Evaluate risk oversight using COSO ERM, risk appetite and assurance mapping
  • Conduct a board effectiveness evaluation using questionnaires, peer feedback and meeting observations
  • Create a 90-day board improvement plan with priorities, owners and review measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Contribute more confidently to board challenge without undermining management accountability
  • Identify weak board practices before they affect decisions, controls or reputation
  • Prepare clearer papers and presentations for director-level scrutiny
  • Use a structured method to assess board and committee performance
  • Build a credible governance improvement plan for board, chair or company secretary roles

For your organisation

  • Clearer separation between board oversight and executive management responsibility
  • Better-tested strategic decisions through disciplined challenge and scenario analysis
  • Earlier escalation of material risks, control gaps and performance deterioration
  • More effective board committees, meeting agendas and follow-through on decisions
  • Documented actions from board evaluation findings, with owners and review dates

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define board authority, accountabilities and decision boundaries relative to executive management.

  • Board purpose, fiduciary duties and stakeholder accountability under applicable company law
  • OECD G20 Principles used to distinguish ownership, oversight and management
  • Reserved matters schedules separating board decisions from executive authority
  • Delegations of authority aligned with risk appetite and financial thresholds
  • Chair, chief executive and company secretary roles defined without overlap
  • Board mandate drafted against strategy, constitution and regulatory obligations

Participants can assess whether board composition and succession arrangements meet future governance needs.

  • Board skills matrix linking strategy, risks, markets and future capability
  • Independence criteria assessed against relationships, tenure and material interests
  • Succession mapping for chairs, committee leaders and critical director capabilities
  • Director recruitment specification built from gaps, diversity and behavioural requirements
  • Nomination committee process from longlist, due diligence and appointment recommendation
  • Induction plans covering business model, site visits and governance documents

Participants can improve boardroom behaviours, chairing discipline and the quality of constructive challenge.

  • Role clarity using RACI for board, committees and executive management
  • Chairing techniques that focus discussion, surface dissent and close decisions
  • Psychological safety practices enabling constructive challenge without personal conflict
  • Groupthink indicators, confirmation bias and authority gradients diagnosed in meetings
  • Conflict protocols for difficult directors, dominant voices and unresolved disagreement
  • Annual board calendar aligned with reporting cycles, strategy and major decisions

Participants can establish information and meeting practices that support timely, accountable board decisions.

  • Board paper template stating decision sought, options, recommendation and risks
  • Decision-quality criteria testing evidence, alternatives, assumptions and implementation ownership
  • Management information dashboards distinguishing leading indicators from lagging results
  • Pre-read discipline, consent agendas and meeting time allocation standards
  • Minutes recording rationale, dissent, actions, owners and due dates
  • Decision log tracking resolutions, conditions, delegated actions and follow-through

Participants can challenge strategy and major investments while maintaining appropriate board-level focus.

  • Strategy oversight cycle linking purpose, market assumptions, choices and execution
  • Scenario planning using drivers, uncertainties, signposts and contingent responses
  • Porter's Five Forces used to test industry economics and strategic position
  • Capital allocation questions for investments, acquisitions, divestments and major programmes
  • Board challenge of strategic KPIs, milestones, benefits and delivery risks
  • Strategic retreat agenda structured around choices, trade-offs and decision rights

Participants can oversee principal risks, risk appetite, controls and assurance with greater discipline.

  • COSO ERM components applied to governance, strategy, performance and review
  • Risk appetite statements translated into limits, triggers and escalation thresholds
  • Risk registers connecting causes, events, impacts, controls and owners
  • Three Lines Model clarifying management, risk functions and internal audit
  • Assurance maps identifying coverage gaps across principal risks and controls
  • Cybersecurity oversight questions covering resilience, incidents, recovery and third parties

Participants can question financial performance, investment cases and audit matters at board level.

  • Financial statements interpreted through profitability, liquidity, solvency and cash conversion
  • Board-level ratio analysis covering return, gearing, covenant headroom and working capital
  • Budget challenge separating base assumptions, sensitivities, contingencies and management action
  • Investment appraisal using NPV, IRR, payback and post-investment review
  • Early-warning indicators for earnings deterioration, liquidity pressure and covenant breach
  • Audit committee questioning of estimates, impairment, revenue recognition and going concern

Participants can design committee oversight arrangements and address ethical governance concerns.

  • Committee charters defining purpose, membership, authority, reporting and annual workplans
  • Audit committee oversight of external audit independence, findings and remediation
  • Remuneration governance linking incentives, performance measures, malus and clawback
  • Nomination committee review of succession, diversity, independence and director development
  • Related-party transaction controls addressing conflicts, approvals and disclosure requirements
  • Whistleblowing arrangements protecting reporting channels, investigations and non-retaliation

Participants can plan and interpret a board evaluation that produces actionable improvement priorities.

  • Board evaluation framework covering composition, behaviours, processes and outcomes
  • Self-assessment questionnaires designed with evidence-based rating scales and open prompts
  • Director peer feedback conducted confidentially against agreed behavioural criteria
  • Meeting observation criteria assessing preparation, challenge, inclusion and decision quality
  • Evaluation findings converted into prioritised actions, owners and review dates
  • External evaluation scope determined when independence, credibility or regulation requires it

Participants can connect governance standards, stakeholder expectations and board improvement actions.

  • ISO 37000 principles used to assess ethical and effective governance
  • Stakeholder mapping prioritising investors, employees, regulators, communities and customers
  • Materiality assessment connecting stakeholder concerns with strategy, risk and disclosures
  • Crisis governance protocols defining information flows, spokesperson authority and decision thresholds
  • Board culture indicators linking conduct, incentives, speak-up data and reputation
  • Personal 90-day governance improvement plan with priorities, sponsors and measures

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Board mandate and reserved matters template
  2. Board skills matrix and succession map
  3. Board paper and decision log templates
  4. Risk appetite and assurance map model
  5. Board effectiveness evaluation toolkit
  6. 90-day governance improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Board Directors — strengthen oversight, challenge and contribution to board decisions
  • Board Chairs — improve meeting quality, participation and collective accountability
  • Chief Executives — clarify productive boundaries between executive management and the board
  • Company Secretaries — strengthen governance processes, papers, calendars and board evaluations
  • General Counsel — advise boards on duties, conflicts, disclosures and governance controls
  • Senior Risk and Audit Leaders — present assurance, risk and control issues effectively to boards

Skills and tools covered

Board effectivenessStrategic oversightRisk governanceDirector evaluationBoardroom decision-makingCommittee governance

Tools and standards

G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, COSO Enterprise Risk Management, IIA Three Lines Model, ISO 37000:2021 Governance of organizations

How the course runs

Training methodology

The instructor uses short briefings to establish governance principles, followed by case analysis, facilitated group work and boardroom simulations. Participants examine realistic board packs, strategy proposals, risk reports, committee papers and evaluation evidence. Discussion compares director, chair, executive and company secretary perspectives, including difficult issues such as dissent, conflicts and underperformance. Application planning helps participants adapt the templates and diagnostic methods to their own board or governing body. The course is delivered over five instructor-led days, either in classroom settings or live online.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience working with a board, board committee, governing body or senior executive team. They should understand their organisation’s basic structure, strategic priorities and principal risks, and be able to read management reports or board papers. Prior director experience is useful but not essential. The course does not require legal qualifications, accounting certification or prior study of a specific national corporate governance code. Participants from corporate, public, financial services and nonprofit settings can apply the methods to their own governance context.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have experience working with senior leaders, a board, a committee or a governing body. You do not need to be a serving director, lawyer or qualified accountant, but familiarity with board papers and organisational strategy is helpful.

Bring a current board agenda, committee terms of reference, governance framework or anonymised board paper if your organisation permits it. These materials help you apply the course methods to real responsibilities while protecting confidential information.

It is designed for directors, chairs, chief executives, company secretaries, general counsel, senior risk leaders and internal audit leaders. It also suits executives who regularly prepare matters for board approval.

Governance foundations courses focus mainly on duties, structures and regulatory requirements. This course concentrates on how boards perform: decision quality, challenge, strategic oversight, information flow, committee effectiveness and evaluation.

You will leave with templates and diagnostic methods for reviewing board mandates, meeting papers, skills, risk oversight and evaluation results. The 90-day plan identifies practical actions, owners and measures for improving a current governance issue.

The course contains ten modules delivered in teaching order, with approximately 6.5 contact hours each day from 08:30 to 16:30. Time is divided between instructor input, case work, group analysis, simulations and application planning; participants receive a certificate of completion.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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