Training of company directors is now best practice

Gone are the days when being a director was considered to be a cushy job carrying
prestige, power and perks with few responsibilities. Nowadays, directors take on
considerable legal and non-legal responsibilities on appointment. Training is essential
for new directors, and is a valuable refresher for more experienced directors. Many
executives have a wealth of experience in management, but it does not follow that
they know how to direct. There are few formal processes to ensure that directors are
trained to competence for their direction-giving role. In fact, it is likely that
employees in organisations receive more training than those with arguably the most
important job in organisations – board directors. In The Fish Rots from the Head, Bob
Garrett observes that the structure of most boards is not conducive to debate, learning,
adaptation and continuous improvement. He goes on to say that most boards are
structured in a legally-orientated, administrative and developmentally-blocking
manner.