“Before we begin,” I said, looking around the room, “how many of you have ever approved a strategy because the CEO sounded convincing, not because the logic was airtight?” Surprise, then few smiles and eyes dropping to papers.
I smiled too, because I have been guilty. I remember walking into a boardroom years ago, full of confidence, ready to impress directors with sharp insights, only to realise after two hours that everyone, including myself, had been debating presentation slides instead of the business itself. We were active, engaged, even passionate. But we were solving the wrong problem very well.
That is when it hit me. Most boards do not fail from ignorance. They fail from misplaced confidence.
Charisma is not strategy
I was facilitating a retreat for a fast-growing telecom company. The CEO was magnetic. He spoke in clean sentences, told compelling stories, and made growth feel inevitable. “Gentlemen,” he said, pacing slowly, “we are not just expanding. We are redefining connectivity in this region.”
One director nodded enthusiastically. Another whispered, “This is exactly the kind of leadership we need.” My colleague watched quietly. Then she asked a simple question. “What is the unit economics of this expansion?”
The room paused. The CEO responded, still composed, “We are investing ahead of demand.” Good attempt, but not a real answer in my opinion. That is the problem. Charisma fills gaps that competence should close.
The boda-boda lesson
If you live in Uganda, you know the proliferation of boda boda riders. There is a boda-boda stage where riders wait for passengers. The loudest rider often gets the first customer. He calls out destinations confidently, promises speed, and projects certainty. But the experienced passengers know something different. The quiet rider at the corner, the one checking his bike, adjusting the mirrors, saying little, is usually the safer choice.
Boards, unfortunately, behave like first-time passengers. They choose the loudest rider. In this telecom case, the board had effectively outsourced thinking to the CEO. Not because they were weak, but because he was persuasive. Over time, strategy drifted. Capital was deployed aggressively. Market share grew, but margins collapsed.
The board kept approving. “Growth takes time to translate,” one director insisted. No. Poor decisions take time to reveal.
In another case, I observed a global consumer goods company navigating a similar expansion dilemma. The CEO was equally charismatic, equally convincing.
But the board behaved differently. One director interrupted mid-presentation. “Stop. Walk us through the assumptions. Not the story. The assumptions.” Another added, “What must be true for this to work?”
The tone shifted. That is the difference. Strong boards do not resist charisma. They neutralise it with clarity. They understand that leadership is not about confidence. It is about accuracy.
The real role of the board
The board is not there to admire the CEO. It is there to test reality.
Not to interfere in operations. Not to sit at a distance. But to engage where it matters most, strategy, risk, and capital allocation. Most boards get this wrong in two ways. They either become too operational, questioning small decisions, or too ceremonial, applauding big ones. In both cases, they avoid the hard work of strategic stewardship.
Here is a simple strategy clarity test I always run. Ask your board and exco:
- What exactly are we betting on?
- What must be true for this to succeed?
- What evidence do we have today that those conditions exist?
I asked each director to answer individually before speaking. At first, discomfort, then confusion, then something powerful happened, the answers did not align.
One director said, “We are betting on data growth.”
Another said, “We are betting on market dominance.”
A third said quietly, “I am not sure what we are betting on.”
That is the moment governance begins. I turned to the CEO. “Your strategy is clear to you. It is not clear to your board. That is a risk.” He nodded, not defensively but honestly. That session changed how they operated. Not overnight. But permanently. “Charisma can win the room. Only competence can sustain the business”, Mr Strategy.
Back to the Boda-Boda Stage. I looked at the directors again. “You are all standing at the stage. The question is simple. Are you choosing the loudest rider, or the one who will actually get you to your destination?”
Because governance is not about who speaks best. It is about who thinks best. And whether the board has the discipline to tell the difference.
Any director worth their role, must ask the CEO:
- What part of your strategy would fail under scrutiny?
- What assumptions have you not tested rigorously?
- If we removed your presentation, would your strategy still stand?
Because the future of your organisation will not be decided by how convincing the CEO sounds. It will be decided by how well the board listens, questions, and thinks.
From passive boards to strategic advantage
If this conversation feels familiar, then your board is not broken but underutilised.
Most boards do not lack intelligence or experience. They lack structure, discipline, and the courage to confront what is really happening beneath polished presentations and confident leadership narratives. That is where transformation begins.
At Summit Consulting Ltd, this is the work we do. Not generic governance templates. Real boardroom interventions that shift behaviour, sharpen thinking, and restore the board’s role as a strategic asset.
We support boards through three critical levers.
- Board evaluations that go beyond compliance to expose blind spots in decision-making, risk intelligence, board dynamics, and strategic oversight, giving you a clear, evidence-based view of how your board is performing. The results help provide a transformation agenda for your board.
- High-impact board retreats that move directors from polite conversations to honest engagement, using live simulations, structured dialogue, and practical tools that redefine trust, accountability, and decision-making.
- Targeted board training that equips directors to challenge with clarity, guide with confidence, and steward strategy with precision, ensuring the board adds measurable value, not ceremonial presence.
This is not about ticking governance boxes. It is about building boards that create competitive advantage. If you are Chairman, the question is simple. Do you want a board that attends meetings, or a board that shapes the future?
Engage Summit Consulting today. Let us make your board future-ready, decisive, and impossible to ignore.
