Chairing can be extremely challenging and, until now, there is little in the way of training and guidance available.

Even good chairs want to get better at chairing and leading change. Speeches and models are of limited use – what works is shared experience, the opportunity to be able to learn from others.

This book is by chairs for chairs, and tells it the way it is, covering topics you won’t find addressed anywhere else, such as: what to get right before you accept; what to do if you think you might have been appointed partly because you are a minority; how to recruit, select and appoint the ideal board; how to manage the relationship between the Chair and the Chief Exec; how to achieve effective decision making; how to deal with an underperforming Chief Exec; what to do before every board meeting; and what never to do (ever).

How to be a Better Chair – and its associated website – delivers fast learning from the distilled wisdom of experienced chairs, in a portable and easily absorbed format. It provides guidance on being a better chair and by making the skills of chairing less daunting, will help attract and develop new candidates from a broader cross-section of society, who are able to chair more diverse boards (this is a big challenge).

Authoritative yet readable, How to be a Better Chair brings together the experiences, tips and thoughts of a broad cross-section of both public and voluntary body chairs, many of whom also have senior corporate experience, from John Gardiner, Chairman of Tesco Stores Ltd to Bill Kilgallon, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission.