Leading the board of directors is a major challenge, requiring great wisdom and sensitivity. Strathmore Business School's new program, LEADING THE BOARD, is aimed specially at chairpersons - those asked to provide leadership, guidance and oversight to that essential organ of corporate governance, the board of directors.

Those who have led boards know it is a role that requires a delicate touch as well as a firm hand. Leading boards is quite unlike leading other teams: meetings are infrequent, limiting the opportunities for bonding; the routines are often stilted and rigid; and fellow directors are all accomplished individuals, leaders in their own right. Doing the chairperson's job well rarely brings personal credit, as that is usually shared between the board and management; doing it badly, however, can lead to a dramatic loss of reputation as the leader of the board tends to shoulder most of the blame.