Governance, Board Membership Identity and Socialised Induction: A narrative on enabling an effective boardroom experience

A cursory look at the literature in the area of corporate governance identifies a number of core themes currently offering insights into boards and their changing role in organisational governance. Increasing discussion on diversity, gender, changing governance frames and increasingly the conceptualisation of board membership as a profession in its own right, are all clear to be seen. Given that boards and their role in governance transcends many sectors from industry, finance and retail to the more emotionally laden service industries such as regulation of health and social care, how can organisations learn to grapple with the changing face within the boardroom and with wider societal expectations of their boards? The suggestion in this thought paper is that by understanding the organisation’s governance frame and organisationally enabling the concept of board membership identity through a strategically aligned view of induction as a process of socialisation, a better board dynamic can evolve