04/03/2019

For Board Meetings, CEOs Must Own the Briefing Book and "Watch Lists"

Transparency is key

For the next installment of our interview series with top directors, my colleague David Reimer, the CEO of Merryck & Co. Americas, and I sat down with Susan Salka, the CEO of AMN Healthcare, who serves on the board of McKesson Corporation and previously served on the boards of Beckman Coulter and Playtex Products. Susan shared many smart insights around the themes of clarity and accountability, and the qualities that she values most in CEOs.

Reimer: What have been some key lessons that you’ve learned from serving on boards?

Salka: One is the importance of management teams being transparent with the board. If they’re sharing too little information or if you learn about everything at the last minute, that can be symptomatic of a lack of trust or lack of clarity around the role that a board plays. Sometimes the management teams can hold things a little too close and then you get a surprise. In retrospect, of course, everyone thinks, “Why didn’t you share this with us earlier?” 

Please select this link to read the complete interview on LinkedIn.