Safeguarding people as well as finances, resources and property and making sure they’re used to further the charity’s purposes.

The Code recognises that there are some issues that can only be decided by the board. It states that: “there should be a formal schedule of matters specifically reserved for its decision” and that the annual report should include a “high-level statement of which types of decisions are to be taken by the board and which are to be delegated to management”. Guidance on drawing up a schedule of matters reserved for the board is available from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and from the Institute of Directors' book, The Effective Board. Ensure that the company’s organisational structure and capability are appropriate for implementing the chosen strategies. Legally speaking, there is no distinction between an executive and non-executive director. They share exactly the same individual and collective duties and responsibilities. Yet there is inescapably a sense in which the NED’s role can be seen as both balancing and challenging that of the executive director, so as to ensure the board, as a whole, functions effectively. Wellcome has put diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of its new strategy and working with the research community, Wellcome wants to help build a better research culture – one that is creative, inclusive and honest. Onboarding or On boarding? If you are part of a team that gets new employees acquainted with their roles in the company, the term you are looking for is onboarding. In this sense, onboard can be a noun or a verb.Sir David Walker, in his 2009 review of governance at major banks, argued for less emphasis to be placed on the independence of nonexecutive directors for the sake of it and for greater weight to be given to relevant financial industry experience. Independence in name was less important than ‘the quality of independence of mind and spirit, of character and judgement’. This is a brilliant, personal primer for board members on how to combine best practice and process with emotional intelligence and the human factor. It’s like a long, lively conversation with a warm, empathetic, very experienced and astute fellow trustee.’

To me, the book is like a rainbow of words. We often point out that whenever there’s a storm there’s a rainbow at the end of it. We want the book to be the rainbow you know is coming at the end of the storm,’ says Chopra. ‘So it’s like a companion [that] makes you feel better when you need it,’ he adds. I haven’t got any work done this morning as I’m gripped by Debra’s book! Chapter 3 especially (working with your CEO) has given me an immense lift. I have to do some proper work now but can’t wait to get home and read more. I’m enthralled!… In 2008, the chief executive, Sir Stuart Rose, was handed the chairman’s job as well – in contravention of principle A.2. Shareholders muttered that this was contrary to the Code, but the company stressed that the roles would be split again when Sir Stuart retired in 2011. In the meantime, the new chairman’s dominance would be counterbalanced by the senior independent director, who was given special responsibility for governance issues. The non-executive directors should convene regularly, as a body, with the chairman, but without their executive colleagues; and at least once a year they should meet on their own under the leadership of the senior independent director to appraise the chairman’s performance. (See: Composition and structure of the board, an OUT-LAW guide.)It is, of course, impossible to list every task that each individual board of directors has to carry out. Each has to consider its own situation and circumstances. For example, small privately owned companies might not be concerned with many of the issues that preoccupy large listed companies. A diversity of voices, experiences and behaviours enhances the effectiveness and cultures of governance boards. And yet analysis of the diversity of UK university and research institute governing body membership, as well as data on governance from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, indicates that there is a disproportionate underrepresentation of certain women compared with the sector and society at large.