Handling Non-Execs: The CEO’s Real Test
Every CEO will tell you that running the business is only half the job. The other half is handling the board and, in particular, the non-executive directors.
Non-Execs are not in the trenches day-to-day. They don’t feel the heat of customer complaints at 7am or the reality of service failures hitting margins, yet their opinions shape your future. Their questions steer the narrative and their votes, in the end, can make or break your tenure.
So how do you handle them?
1. Don’t mistake scrutiny for attack
The first time you’re sat in front of a seasoned NED who tears through your paper line by line, it can feel personal. It isn’t because scrutiny is the job of any NED. They’ve been hired to spot the blind spots you either don’t see or don’t want to see. If you get defensive, you lose influence over them almost instantly. If you listen, you gain their trust and they will work with you rather than against you.
2. Give them choices, not fait accompli
The quickest way to alienate a board is to present decisions as if they’ve already been made. Non-Execs hate being treated as a rubber stamp. Frame your work as options, trade-offs and recommendations and ask for their advice and thoughts. They typically have a huge amount of experience, which, if harnessed, can be incredibly useful. Even if you know which way you want to go, present the alternatives. It makes them feel involved and often sharpens your own thinking.
3. Know who’s really asking the question
Boards are not a single organism. Often, one NED has a burning issue, but the whole boardroom hears about it. If you can trace the concern back to its source, you can address it privately, directly and diplomatically, instead of letting it dominate the entire agenda.
4. Manage the rhythm of information
Non-Execs live in a different rhythm to execs. They dip in and out, and with too much detail, they drown; conversely, too little and they think you’re hiding something. The art is in the pacing: one-page summaries, supported by detailed appendices for those who want to dive deeper. Respect their time, but never leave them under-informed.
5. Remember: they are customers too
Many NEDs are, or have been, customers of the business and that lens shapes everything. They’ll judge not just the numbers, but the service they’ve personally received. Treat their lived experience as data, not anecdote and understand them from their particular lived experience of your product or service. It’s valuable, but it shouldn’t be the only truth in the room.
6. Influence in the corridors, not just the boardroom
The most effective CEOs don’t wait for the formal meeting. They build relationships in the margins, through phone calls, coffees and quick WhatsApp updates. By the time the boardroom lights are on, you already know where people stand.
Handling Non-Execs is about humility and control in equal measure. Humility to listen, to take a challenge without ego. Control to shape the agenda, provide clarity and keep the board moving in the right direction.
Do it well, and your board becomes a competitive advantage; a group of allies who stretch you, sharpen you and back you when it matters. Do it badly and the boardroom becomes the battlefield you never escape from.
The choice, as always in leadership, is yours.
If you’re stepping into a CEO or exec role and want help navigating board dynamics, this is the stuff I coach on. Drop me a message.
