We asked 342 directors whether they had worked with an ineffective FD – three quarters had. We then went on to ask what had happened to the FD and your comments pretty much sum up what they said.

While the ineffective FDs had mostly been sacked, directors were asked if with hindsight they should have done anything different. Of those answering this question, forty per cent said they should have acted sooner and a quarter said the FD stayed on but should have been removed!

So we would agree – if you aren’t sure about the quality of your FD, particularly in the current economy, you probably need to take the bull by the horns and get this sorted. We didn’t get a sense that anyone really felt you can improve an FD’s performance through training and development. It’s too critical a role to hang around and wait for an improvemnet particulary at the moment.

Happy to send hard copies of the report if anyone wants – or you can download free from our website.www.directorbank.com
John Pearce