HDN Think Piece – Mock Board Meetings Are A Game Changer for our Trainees

HDN Associate Mick Warner talks about the value of mock board meetings on our programmes.

We all know that stepping into a boardroom for the first time can be intimidating. Papers are long, abbreviations abound, and more experienced and knowledgeable people are sat round the table. For our trainee board members—particularly those new to governance or coming from a lived-experience route—the leap from theory to practice can feel daunting.

That’s why we design and deliver mock board meetings as part of our programmes. We believe that a well-designed mock board meeting is one of the most powerful learning tools available for developing confident and effective board members.

The mock board meetings are part of Board Trainee Programme (BTP) through which we work over a two year period with trainees, mostly from ‘non-traditional’ board backgrounds, so that they are in a position to apply for board vacancies when they arise.

One aspect of the BTP is the opportunity for trainees to attend eight BTP workshops together with 10 workshops from our Board Accelerator Programme (BAP) which is for existing board members.

Most of the BAP workshops are about the essentials, covering topics such as finance, regulation, health and safety and risk management.  The BTP workshops are geared more towards developing trainees as prospective board members, covering areas such as the role of the board member, what good governance looks like, preparing for and contributing in Board meetings and hearing the resident voice and diverse voices in the boardroom.

As trainees move towards the end of their time on the BTP they attend a full day, in person mock board meeting workshop.

We have recently run two such mock board meeting workshops.  We were fortunate to have four very experienced individuals who played the role of chair. Thanks so much to Kevin Brady (chair of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing), Niki Stockton (Chair of Irwell Valley Homes) and Adrian Carridice-Davids and Rob Brown (Chair and Deputy Chair respectively of Arawak Walton HA).

On both occasions we prepared mock board papers on finance and risk management and shared them with trainees in advance of the workshops.  On the day of the workshops the trainees and the chair had an initial discussion of the papers which we presented, followed by everyone reflecting on how the session had gone. As always, the real value of the session wasn’t just the simulation—it was debrief. Structured reflection allowed trainees to explore what they noticed, how they felt, and what they’d do differently next time.

The mock board meeting workshops represent a great opportunity for trainees to apply the skills and knowledge which they have acquired over the course of the BTP and to practice speaking up in board meetings in a safe space.  Of particular importance was the area of effective challenge. When should you intervene? How do you question without being confrontational? How do you challenge the executive team while maintaining trust and respect?

The workshops also enable trainees to observe how different individuals operate when chairing board meeting, as well as being a chance for trainees to get together in person and to share their experiences and learning.

Our mock board meetings don’t just prepare trainee board members for the boardroom —they prepare them for the reality of governance and oversight. And that’s an investment that pays dividends for individuals, boards, and the communities they work in.