10 Steps for Board Directors Before, During and After Crisis

NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Much has been written about the importance of crisis management and communications, but not much has focused on the specific governance role of the Board of Directors. In a recent article on Forbes.com, crisis expert Davia Temin defines the 10 most important steps every board must be prepared to take in the event of a crisis affecting their company.

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To view the full article, visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviatemin/2014/10/08/the-role-of-boards-in-crisis-10-steps-for-directors-before-during-and-after-crisis/

"Public expectation is much clearer today than ever before, and places the responsibility for proper crisis response squarely on the shoulders of the board, as well as management," Temin explains. "If heads will roll, they will roll on the board as well as in the executive suite, and further destabilization of the company will result."

Temin's article on crisis management includes tips such as the following:

• Proactivity is needed. It not only looks bad, it is bad when boards are forced to act by circumstances, as opposed to their getting out in front of problems on their own.
• Rebalance your levels of intrusiveness vs. hands-off governance. No longer can boards even presume that they will be alerted to every issue the public will expect them to know about. Each board must find its own new balance with management on how to increase its oversight to appropriate levels.
• Do not put too much credence in crisis planning. Channels of communication – between board and management, and management and shareholders, employees, customers, and stakeholders, as well as with law enforcement and regulators – need to be primed long before they are deployed.

"No longer is plausible deniability acceptable, either for boards or for management," Temin continues. "Boards are expected to know of problems that are brewing deep within their organizations. And they are expected to act upon that knowledge swiftly. How well you survive a crisis depends on how well you manage it at the board level."

Leadership and crisis expert Davia Temin, CEO of Temin and Company, helps create, enhance and save reputations at board and executive levels and coaches CEOs and leaders. For more information, please visit http://www.teminandcompany.com

For further information, please contact Suzanne Brownstein or Trang Mar at 212-588-8788 or [email protected].

SOURCE Temin and Company