The role of the chairman has become high in profile and the expectations multiplied over time. Stakeholders expect to have an engaged, energetic Chairman who does more than managing corporate governance. The relationship between the Chairman and the chief executive officer should be good to ensure the success of both of them. Their relationship should be honest, transparent and they should be able to trust one another. The two parties have to understand that they have different roles for them to work together successfully.
A chairman like Mr. Hussain al Nowais is effective in what he does since he fully understands what his job entails. A good chairman should provoke positive challenges to the directors to improve various areas of the company. Whenever he needs information on particular issues, he should be able to ask the right questions. A good chair needs to know the mission of the board and how to measure the progress of the company. While still helping the organization by offering guidance, he should be able to acquire resources that would be of use within the organization. It would be very disappointing if the chairman does not realize that it is not his job to run the business but to ensure that it is running well. His main role is to reinforce the directors and other senior officials.
A chairman, however, should make sure that he devotes just the right amount of time to the roles he is supposed to take care of. Since he does not run the company, he does not have much work. However, he should interact with the staff, customers, and investors from time to time. An experienced chairman should be able to understand other people’s feelings and also the company. The ability to run an effective board and make sure there is a good relationship between the shareholders and stakeholders is what defines a good chairman.
In case of a crisis in the organization, a good chairman is able to put the interests of the company first. While tackling the problem, he should always remember the set mission by the organization. To solve any problems within the organization, he should be willing to give in a lot of his time until everything is aligned for example Mr. Hussain al Nowais.
A great chairman should follow the right procedure when he is ready to resign from his duty. He suddenly does not step down from his position without any warning. He is supposed to share his intention with the management team and directors about resigning from the company at least six to eighteen months before leaving. This gives the organization to start looking for a replacement. Also, the resigning chairperson gets to meet the new chairman like Hussain al Nowais and gets to introduce him to major team players within the organization.