I was once appointed to a management board of a Non-Profit Organisation and duly elected Chairman. It has become an interesting journey finding my place as Chairman of a board of an organisation that I do not work in on a daily basis. What is the role of a chairman? What do the other board members and the staff expect of me? And how do I get along with the CEO?

The Chairman’s hat is a large and often heavy one to wear. It is woven with responsibility and procedure and can often bring about long discussions and uncomfortable decision making. Any organisation from the smallest to the multinational needs someone to play the chairman role and wear the hat. Not having a chairman is like going on holiday without a map. Maybe fun and exciting for a while but soon you will be lost and have no sense of direction.

In my experience, it is always good to get the Entrepreneur and Chairman hats to chat at length to discover the possibilities or opportunities of the business before you bring in the Manager and Share Holder. This allows for expansion before fear sets in. If you do not have a Chairman in your business then take it upon yourself to wear the hat or hire a consultant or coach to wear it for you.