‘Demonstrating and implementing moral leadership’

Directors and supervisory board members are expected to look inward and be able to articulate their intrinsic values ​​and norms and discuss them with others. It comes down to their ability to balance their personal identity with business decision-making. In the dynamics of the boardroom, that is not easy, to say the least …
Maas: ‘It certainly is not easy. It requires courage and loyalty to your personal convictions. That is why it is so important that all participants in Deepened Governance communicate this thinking to the outside world, within their own networks. The importance of this project is that a much larger group is going through this personal transition. And that everyone thinks the same way. Traditionally, the corporate governance code was about issues such as innovation, HR, strategy and finance. In Deepened Governance, skills other than financial parameters are tapped into – which does not mean that a ‘humane economy’ does not require good business models. These skills can also be seen in the revised corporate governance code that came into effect this year and for which a new monitoring committee has been appointed.’
De Jong: ‘The major challenge for supervisory board members and directors is that they need to weigh up interests more broadly than just on the basis of turnover and profit. The E for economy has been joined by the E for ESG. That requires new considerations. In the past, ‘good intentions’, although not subsequently fulfilled, were good enough. Now, no company or organization can do without a serious sustainability agenda. And that requires moral decision-making and a willingness to act. What I find very encouraging is that there is now an honest conversation. Ethics are being discussed openly, which was unthinkable until recently.’

Deepened Governance is a follow-up to the Discomfort in the Boardroom project, which was organised in collaboration with MVO Nederland. This resulted in seven good practices for corporate directors to use as examples. To what extent are these good practices reflected in Deepened Governance?
Maas: ‘The good practices are now reflected in the clear competencies that directors and supervisory board members will need. These competencies are responsibility, authentic leadership, exploratory thinking, moral intelligence, and the art of connecting and integrating. There is broad support for this, because the good practices were created in six intensive co-creation sessions. Some are very elementary, such as listening and daring to ask questions. As a novice manager, I already encountered them in De Baak’s beginners’ course ‘Me and the other.’ Apparently, directors still need to listen and ask questions!
There were also some good practices that I found very surprising, such as ‘dare to let yourself be touched’ or ‘seek out discomfort.’ These are questions that tie in with the inside-out transition that Deepened Governance is striving for. Personal transformation is the starting point for broad organizational and societal change. The goal is to allow ethical considerations and personal values ​​into the boardroom, on top of the already existing compliance-driven and principle-based approach of the previous corporate governance code from 2022.’

Where does this focus on human dignity come from? There must have been a shift in our views on the economic model. Capitalist technocracy seems to be giving way to a sustainable economy that equates value with profit.
Maas: ‘We have gradually moved away from capitalist mechanisms in the aftermath of the financial crisis, which lasted from 2008 to 2013. Initially, sustainability was still seen as a cost, but gradually companies discovered that it is possible to do both: contribute to solving social problems and make money, as long as you can come up with a good revenue model. The Paris Climate Agreement was also an important milestone.’
De Jong: ‘Unfortunately, we are currently seeing the anti-forces growing again. Because sustainable transitions take time, results are slow to materialize and that makes people impatient. Geopolitical developments and populist rhetoric reinforce that feeling of unease and set us back a step. But we must persevere. It is difficult to measure the results of something like the energy transition – it takes time; it is not called a transition for nothing. The CSRD is also seen as a burden. Companies cannot yet reconcile the obligations that they will have to enter into with the ultimate benefits. Nevertheless, it is important that we convince companies now that they must uphold their social, environmental and societal principles. Directors and supervisory board members must stand firm to convince shareholders to continue investing in long-term value creation.’

How do you ensure that directors and supervisory board members who participate in the training not only gain knowledge, but also truly reflect on their actions and change their behavior?
De Jong: ‘The lessons are not without obligation. Participants have to do homework, which is discussed and assessed in the group. They also have to submit questions in advance that relate to their own situation. Have they encountered any ethical dilemmas? And what questions would they have asked with the knowledge they now have? We put the participants to the test in a simulated boardroom. This is a completely different teaching method than traditional lectures. You are in the spotlight, whereas in a classroom you can always withdraw from a discussion.’
Maas: ‘We also use role-playing, simulations and gaming. This allows them to combine philosophical and ethical principes with their own case studies in a practical way. Intervision is also becoming increasingly important in our leadership programs. Half of the participants come from the public sector and half from the private sector. They are mostly people who are willing to change, otherwise they would not have signed up. Our slogan is: ‘We develop leaders to serve society by transforming business.’’
De Jong: ‘We say: ‘A better world starts with better leadership’. It is, in fact, the same thing.’

What challenges does the governance trainer face?
De Jong: ‘The most important question is how to reach the older group of directors. I often see a more conservative moral code among people over sixty. Of course, this depends on the sector, and we encounter it more in traditional organizations, but too many participants are still status-oriented and believe that their position requires a certain behavior. The conversations at the table very often start with their CV and end with turnover and profit. You really see a big difference between the new generation that is more socially aware and wants to take responsibility, and the group that finds all these changes difficult and does not yet see the sustainable transition as a business opportunity. The new generation is young, more often female and comes from the non-profit sector as well as the business world. They are much more receptive to our training program.’
Maas: ‘Many directors experience the new laws and regulations, such as CSRD, as stifling. They are obliged to comply with them, while shareholders want dividends. We teach them to reconcile the two. Young talents, on the other hand, are consciously choosing careers at companies that take sustainability, social equality, environmental issues and inclusivity seriously.’

What are the biggest challenges that governance trainers have to prepare their participants for?
Maas: ‘That there is often no single solution, that you very often have to deal with devilish problems. Solving these complex issues is difficult for management and supervisory board members, but with good moral decision-making processes, you can get everyone on the same page.’
De Jong: ‘Directors are often caught between a rock and a hard place. They want to change course, but shareholders often consider achieving the highest possible return even more important. It remains difficult to align the interests of stakeholders and shareholders, but that is where the solution lies.’

How do you train for competencies that are sometimes needed immediately, but also in the long term, such as AI, technology and the energy transition?
De Jong: ‘You have to be agile and have both feet firmly planted in society. That is what we look for in our teachers. They have a flexible and innovative attitude and are also willing to be continuously assessed in the teaching modules and on their teaching skills.’
Maas: ‘We have teachers who are top academics, but who often also have one foot in society as advisors, consultants or directors. And we ask for more than just knowledge and skills. Social and ethical principles must also be woven into all programs and courses.’
De Jong: ‘Our profiles for the supervisory board are drawn up with the same requirements. When applying, they provide examples of this and explain how they arrived at their conclusions.’
Maas: ‘Deepened Governance shows that we need people who demonstrate and implement moral leadership.’

How do you ensure that Deepened Governance not only comes to the attention of the group of commissioners and directors who already want to change, but also all those other potential candidates?
De Jong: ‘The danger is that the principles of governance remain a small oil slick, while it should spread like a large oil slick. That is why it is important that we not only reach our current and future students but also involve alumni – the people who have been on supervisory boards for many years.’
Maas: ‘We organize alumni days per discipline, where current developments are discussed and the alumni can expand their network.’
De Jong: ‘We have set ourselves the goal of maintaining momentum and spreading inspiration about governance. Participants also get to know other directors and supervisory board members, which expands the network. If they see that doing business based on your personal values ​​is effective, they will also make sustainable decisions that can accelerate the transitions of our time.’

This article was published in Management Scope 05 2025.