Charity Leadership Workshop

Chair’s opening remarks

Ben Brice, Legal Director (Charities), Blake Morgan LLP and Chair, Cancer Support UK

Hubris: checks and balances

Self-confidence and resilience are essential for any effective leader. However, left unchecked, these personality traits can lead to a sense of self-importance that can severely impact decision making and have devastating consequences for entire companies. Here we explore some real-life case studies and discuss how to effectively manage ego and hubris at executive and trustee level.

Eugene Sadler-Smith, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, University of Surrey Business School and Lead, the Hubris Project

Influence on the board

Camila Batmanghelidjh, the founder and former chief executive of Kids Company has been accused by the government of being a ‘de facto director’ despite not sitting on the board. Charity leaders must be vigilant of individuals wielding control over board decisions. In this session, we look at how to address the balance between engaging with stakeholders and not allowing them to have undue influence on board matters.

Mark Harvey, Consultant, Charles Russell Speechlys

Dealing with problem trustees

With charity governance continuing to be scrutinised in the media, it’s more important than ever that charity boards focus on improving their resilience and diversifying the skillset of their trustees. But what do you do when a problem trustee causes your board to become less effective? What are your options?

Sarah O’Grady, Governance Consultant and Mediator

Case study: winding up a charity

When things go wrong, sometimes insolvency is the only option. There are many moving parts to the winding up process and charities are often faced with making some very difficult decisions. Using a real life case study, this session looks at various things to be considered including how to dispose of assets and the role of the trustees.

Tim Carter, Partner, Stevens & Bolton LLP

Balancing risk and reward

As regulation tightens and the media continues to focus on the consequences of charity failures, it’s only natural that the board’s appetite for risk reduces. However, extremely risk averse boards won’t be able to make the most of the opportunities that could genuinely help their beneficiaries. Here we discuss how boards can learn to embrace risk to improve outcomes and maximise impact.

Shane Brennan, CEO, Staywell

Chair’s closing remarks and workshop close