非執行董事很難做
2005年11月14日 星期一
非執行董事很難做
The trouble with directors without a bark
要想當一名得力的非執行董事，需要有非凡的平衡能力。優秀的非執行董事對於執行班子來說，既是監督者，又是支持者；既能縱觀全局，又能理解細節；既能在發言時得到別人的尊重，又善於聆聽；既保持客觀，又忠心耿耿。
It takes an extraordinary balancing act to be an effective non-executive director. The good ones are both watchdogs and supporters of the executive team； able to see the big picture and understand the detail； capable of commanding respect when they speak but also good at listening； objective and yet committed.
所以，近期出臺的一項董事會議調查毫不奇怪。調查顯示了大量例證，說明非執行董事如何未能盡責。根據這項調查，最不力的一類是所謂「唯唯諾諾者」，他們僅在董事會上充數，而不對任何問題進行爭論。該項調查涉及124名董事長、執行長和非執行董事，代表了英國的500多個董事會。
Small wonder， then， that a boardroom survey has come up with plenty of examples of how non-executive directors fall down. The weakest kind is the 「nodding dog」， who makes up the numbers on the board without challenging anything， according to the survey of 124 chairmen， chief executives and non-executive directors representing more than 500 UK boards.
在獵頭公司Whitehead Mann進行的這些採訪，還揭示了另一類惱人的非執行董事，他們非常好鬥，吹毛求疵，對執行班子有害而無益。
Another irritant， uncovered in interviews by Whitehead Mann， the executive search firm， is the NED who is aggressively critical and undermines the executives without adding value.
「我們就有這麼一位非執行董事，他坐在董事會議上，手拿計算器，質疑財務主管的計算，」一名憤怒的高管回憶道。
「We had one non-exec who sat in board meetings with his calculator and challenged the calculations of the finance director，」 recalls an exasperated executive.
那些表現得像失敗的執行長的非執行董事們，總是將觀點強加於人，弄得自己在董事會同僚中極不受歡迎。同樣不受歡迎的是那些思想懶散、過分追求細節、態度粗魯或開會遲到的非執行董事。
Non-executives who act as frustrated CEOs， always imposing their views， make themselves deeply unpopular with their boardroom colleagues. So do those who display sloppy thinking， demand too much detail， are rude or turn up late for meetings.
Whitehead Mann公司合伙人之一蘇珊？布洛赫（Susan Bloch）說，對好壞兩方面的特點同時開展調查，是有價值的。蘇珊？布洛赫也是題為《怎樣成為傑出的非執行董事？》（What Makes an Exceptional Non-Executive Director？）的調查報告的作者。
Susan Bloch， a Whitehead Mann partner and author of the report， 「What Makes an Exceptional Non-Executive Director？」， says it was useful to investigate both good and bad traits.
「董事會裡包括一名非常討厭的非執行董事，此事幾乎人人都曾體驗過，」她說。「這可以幫助董事會其他成員學會什麼事情不該做。」
「Almost everybody has at some time experienced having a very irritating non-executive on the board，」 she says. 「This can help the other board members .？。？。？learn what not to do.」
由於當前對高素質非執行董事的需求越來越大，因此該報告強調了這種職業所包含的內在矛盾。例如，董事會希望非執行董事具有管理公司的經驗，從而具有管理能力，但是又希望他們能夠自我克制。
At a time of growing demand for high-quality non-executive directors， the report highlights the contradictions inherent in the job. For example， boards want non-executives with experience of running a business， and thus of being in command， but they also want people who can bury their egos.
「警察、告密者、挑戰者、企業支持者、戰略專家，這些品質往往互相矛盾，」一名董事說。「毫不奇怪，很難找到這樣的人。」
「Policemen， whistleblowers， challengers and supporters of a business， strategic experts. Often these attributes are mutually incompatible，」 says one director. 「Not surprisingly， it is very hard to find these people.」
倫敦勞合社（Lloyd『s of London）即將離任的執行長尼克？普裡特瓊（Nick Prettejohn）說，傑出的非執行董事「善於保持距離，從而以一種支持性而又冷靜的觀點，去關注執行程序。」
Nick Prettejohn， departing chief executive of Lloyd『s of London， says an outstanding non-executive 「is good at maintaining distance to look at the executive process with a supportive but dispassionate perspective」。
汽車保險公司Admiral的董事長阿拉斯泰爾？裡昂（Alastair Lyons）評論說：「傑出的非執行董事善於調整風格和行為，有能力與許多不同的人合作。如果他們更像變色龍一些，他們將會從中受益。」
Alastair Lyons， chairman of Admiral， the motor insurer， comments： 「An exceptional NED is？。？。？。？adaptable in style and behaviour， with the ability to work with a lot of different people. NEDs would benefit from being more chameleon-like.」
為了得到所有這些品質，董事會必需尋找那些技巧和特點能互補的董事，布洛赫女士說。
To find all these qualities， boards must look for directors with complementary skills and characteristics， says Ms Bloch.
「我不認為你能指望找到超人或女超人。奧妙在於你能將董事會平衡到什麼程度——要擁有真正具備深度經驗的人，還要擁有充滿夢想和創造性的人，以及堪稱名副其實的優秀外交家的人。」
「I don『t think you can expect superman or superwoman. It’s about how well you balance the board – having someone with real depth of experience？。？。？。？someone else who is visionary and creative， and someone else who is a really good ambassador.」
很奇怪，儘管非執行董事被要求擔負的責任越來越大，該項研究卻發現，有些董事會的招聘仍舊很隨便。「相對而言，對該角色幾乎沒有意見統一的摘要或說明，這很可能導致了對非最佳人選的任命，」一位財務長說。
Surprisingly， given the increased responsibility that non-executive directors are being asked to shoulder， the research finds that recruitment is still haphazard on some boards. 「There was relatively little agreement in terms of a brief or specification for the role， which possibly resulted in the sub-optimal appointment，」 says one chief financial officer.
有問題的非執行董事進入董事會後，董事會將很難擺脫他們。一位被採訪者解釋說，甚至定期評估也不一定起作用。
Boards saddled with problem NEDs will find it hard to get rid of them. As one interviewee explains， even regular evaluation does not necessarily help.
「與我共事的一位董事簡直是令人痛苦，礙手礙腳，難以相處，不僅不夠聰明，而且根本不可能成功。我看到董事會進行過外部評估，但是他們沒有表現出令人不快的東西，因為他們希望來年再次得到這份工作。」
「There is one director I work with who『s a total pain， obstructive， difficult， not that bright and a non-starter. I have seen external evaluations of boards take place but they take out the unpalatable stuff because they want to get the work again next year.」
從執行董事轉為非執行董事可能很困難，但是新成員似乎經常不得不自己照料自己。「令人擔憂的是，不足三分之一的董事會成員不能判斷，他們是否幫助過本公司的非執行董事為履行其職能而作準備，」布洛赫女士說。
The transition from executive to non-executive director can be difficult， yet new recruits seem often to be left to fend for themselves. 「It is concerning that fewer than one in three board directors were able to say whether they had helped their own NEDs to prepare for the role，」 says Ms Bloch.
該項研究發現，在最專業的案例中，就職需要3-6個月的準備過程，這一程序由公司秘書主持，並加以調整，以適應董事個人的需要。不過124名被採訪者中，幾乎沒有人提及本公司擁有一套正式的就任程序。「有點兒想當然吧，」一位董事說。「這一角色到底是什麼，完全不清楚。」
In the most professional cases， induction is a three to six-month process run by the company secretary and tailored to the needs of the individual director， the research finds. But few of the 124 interviewees spoke of having a formal process of induction. 「It was sort of taken for granted，」 says one director. 「There was no clarity of what the role was.」
顯然，如果董事會在其會議桌上看到的是唯唯諾諾者，而不是認真監督，有時候也只能怪董事會自己。
Clearly， boards sometimes have only themselves to blame if they find there is a nodding dog rather than a watchdog at the table.
譯者/嚴瀟瀟