Engage Julie

See Julie Speaking on Stage

Hear Julie on ABC Radio speaking about the impact of corona virus on boards and directors

See Julie on ABC News The Business talking about the Financial Services Royal Commission

Julie on Ticker TV talking about who gets to be on boards and how people can build a board career.

Contact Us for details of how Julie can help make your next event a resounding success.

Julie started her director career when she was a senior, but not yet ‘C class’ executive. Before she became CEO she already had a portfolio of paid non-executive directorships. She loves her career in the boardroom and is keen to help other aspiring directors to develop their careers.

The Board Readiness Program is a confidential coaching and mentoring program that covers all aspects of developing a career as a director. It includes modules on:

• Setting goals
• Networking
• Director’s CVs
• Work Environment preferences
• Due diligence
• Targeting appropriate companies

Boards operate under strict confidentiality and in a way that is very different to executive teams. Directors wishing to improve their effectiveness in the boardroom need access to specialist and confidential advice from a mentor who has experience of working at that level and in that environment.

This program provides a safe forum for self directed investigation of the routes to performance improvement and the enhancement of the directors abilities. It allows directors to access current ideas about best practice and discuss personal and organisational issues with a specialist mentor.

Much has been written and said about high performing boards but little is known about how to build these in practice.

So, how should an entrepreneur go about establishing a board? At what stage does a board become necessary? Who should you invite to join your board and what must you offer to attract good quality directors? What are the special needs of fast-growth company boards and how can these be met in private and listed sectors?

In this interactive session Julie Garland McLellan, an internationally acknowledged expert on boards and governance, will highlight practical tips that will help you to improve the performance of your company’s board of directors.

Boards committed to developing a best practice culture can enrol in the Great Governance Program, a series of workshops delivered in a 12 month period that are customised to a Board’s specific needs.

The Great Governance program focuses on a number of key areas identified by Julie as being critical to overall improved Board performance. These include:

• Governance (or Government sector) workshop
• Strategy workshop
• Risk workshop
• Board performance assessment
• Digital Governance Workshop

Participants receive a complimentary copy of Julie Garland McLellan’s book,
‘All Above Board – Great Governance for the Government Sector’

Boards that subscribe to the four workshop series will also receive free access to the ‘Great Governance Guides’, a series of brief publications each focused on one specific aspect of governance.

These workshops are suitable for aspiring and new directors or for Boards that have recently formed and are still developing a unique culture. The course can be customised to suit public sector, not-for-profit, private sector-listed and private sector-non-listed entities.

At the end of the session the Board will have articulated the role that they wish to play in the key areas of strategic planning, monitoring progress, legal compliance and succession. They will also have discussed an appropriate enterprise culture and determined the role of the board in ensuring that the desired culture is developed.

The course includes:

• An introduction to governance
• The role of the Board
• The role of management
• The rights and duties of shareholders
• Special considerations for subsidiary Boards (optional)
• Special considerations for international Boards (optional)
• Board meetings and processes
• Board reports and record-keeping
• Chairmanship
• Board performance improvement
• Developing a successful business

These presentations are designed to assist boards in getting new members up to speed so that they can start to make a positive impact fast. The session incorporates a 20 minute presentation on governance essentials (to compliment the information in the induction pack) followed by a 40 minute question and answer session to allow boards to refine their operations to adapt to their new composition and give the new member a chance to hear what the existing members feel about their governance role at this company.

Always impactful and never boring, even experienced Chairmen have been amazed at how much value they got from a single hour of board time.

The presentations are customised to suit the exact needs of the individual organisation.

These workshops are suitable for experienced directors and aspiring directors. They give participants an overview of the key differences between governance on a private sector board and on the Board of a government owned organisation.

At the end of the session participants will have an awareness of the main governance roles and relationships and will be fully effective in managing the complexity of the government sector to produce enhanced corporate performance with lower levels of uncertainty and risk for employees and shareholders.

The course includes:

• An introduction to governance
• What’s different in the public sector
• Enabling legislation and overarching legal frameworks
• Roles of ministers, portfolio departments, parliament and treasury
• Finance, dividends and reporting
• Planning and budgeting
• Ethics
• Stakeholders and sustainability

These workshops are suitable for experienced directors and Boards that are aware of their governance roles and responsibilities. They give participants an overview of the key issues in developing and implementing strategy.

At the end of the session participants will be able to articulate the role that their Board plays in developing and implementing strategy, will have developed an annual Board agenda that allows the Board to play its chosen role and will have developed a set of KPIs for monitoring strategy implementation.

The course includes:

• Choosing a role for the Board in developing strategy
• Brainstorming SWOTs and developing a strategic response
• How to check strategic proposals – using a simulated or real proposal
• Annual planning and Board schedules
• Scanning the environment, evaluating options and developing a way forward
• Developing action plans – how to develop an action plan
• Monitoring performance – setting KPIs, establishing milestones, deciding on reporting frequency and formats

These workshops are suitable for experienced directors and Boards that are aware of their governance roles and responsibilities. They give participants an overview of the key issues in risk management oversight. ASX Principle 7 establishes that a board should recognise and manage risk and this course develops the skills required to do so.

At the end of the course participants will understand their own and the organisations risk appetite and will be able to align the risk appetite with the corporate strategy to better manage the risk reward equation. Participants will also determine the manner and frequency of risk reporting and develop a set of KPIs that will form the basis for ongoing risk reporting.

The course includes:

• Determining your organisation’s appetite for risk
• What are Board members really worried about? Which of these are relevant in your Board?
• What are the key risks in practice?
• How are companies managing these risks?
• What are the emerging new risks that companies may not yet be managing?
• How to start a strategic risk conversation within the Board or audit committee

Boards are high performance teams; like any other team they require continued work to enhance and improve performance to deliver better results. Many Boards currently undertake an annual Board performance assessment to ensure that they are structured and operating in line with best practice governance principles.

A good assessment will add value by allowing the Board to operate more effectively, to address issues that hold the Board back from maximising its potential, or to participate more effectively in the strategy and risk management processes of the organisation.

By selecting a methodology to suit the individual circumstances and ensuring that reports focus on actions to be taken, Julie ensures that each individual Board derives the maximum benefit possible from the assessment process.

The increasing trend to online interaction has created many opportunities for companies to serve new clients in different ways, to engage with staff, shareholders and stakeholders, and to manage their own internal operations more effectively. It has also generated new risks that can threaten the survival of organisations by annulling previously inviolable strategic advantages and generating new sources of fraud, intellectual property theft, security breaches, or poaching of staff.

This workshop focuses upon the effects of digital technologies on real world businesses. It provides directors with the ability to govern confidently by assessing the possible impacts technology may have upon business models, board operations and individual directors.

This is a practical ‘hands on’ workshop that provides an insight into the potential of digital media for e-governance. It includes a virtual tour of cyberspace visiting all the most frequently mentioned sites and providing an overview of their capabilities.

The workshop is conducted in small groups and is suitable for directors with little (or no) experience in interactive internet technology as well as for those with a sound grasp of the basics and a desire to enhance their knowledge by insights into the ways in which other Boards are using the technology.

Confidential ‘one-on-one’ sessions are also available for directors who wish to proceed at their own pace rather than as part of a group.