At the Board Development Agency we meet many chairs who work with very capable CEO's who can sometimes overpower their chair. We believe the relationship is a partnership, and that means the chair really understanding the CEO. How often and for how long do you feel as a chair you should spend with the CEO to ensure you have a good relationship?

What are the essential ingredients for a good chair? Is it getting the organisation to make effective decisions and to control the board discussion so contributions are manageable and relevant? Yvonne Atkinson at the Board Development Agency says:

"This is sometimes the most difficult thing to do and does require a strong chair but also a board that understands the role and purpose of the chair and is prepared to support her in this role and not spend the meeting scoring points. Its a hard job and well done to all the chairs who are working hard for their organisations."

One of the members of TenantBook who is a chair herself Laura Grant summed up what it takes to become a strong chair:

"When you first start as a chair you should try to work as much as possible with your CEO to ensure you know how your association works. Before you take on the role you should know your CEOs personality from sitting on the board. It ultimately depends if your the right person to be a chair. A strong CEO can overpower the chair but if the chair has support of the board behind them they should be able to challenge the CEO regardless of how overpowering a CEO is. I like to catch up with my CEO once a week at the least."