Chair-CEO Boundary Assessment

Chair-CEO Boundary Assessment

The Chair-CEO relationship shapes how authority operates between the board and management.

The risk often appears in ordinary moments: the Chair giving executive direction, the CEO seeking Chair validation before acting, executives approaching the Chair directly, or founder and shareholder influence travelling through informal channels.

This assessment gives Chairs, CEOs, directors and Company Secretaries a structured way to examine whether Chair authority, CEO autonomy and informal influence are operating within agreed boundaries, then determine what next step fits.

What it covers

Ten questions across three areas: Chair authority and executive boundary discipline; CEO autonomy and board boundary discipline; external influence, relationship failure and review discipline.

What you receive

• A completable Chair-CEO Boundary Assessment (PDF with response fields)
• An interpretation of the gaps and uncertainties identified in your responses
• A reasoned conclusion, including whether any further action is needed
• A one-page summary you can share with the Chair, CEO or Company Secretary, or table at a board meeting

This is for your board if

• the Chair is closely involved in executive work
• the CEO seeks Chair approval for matters within delegation
• executives approach the Chair directly rather than working through the CEO
• directors stay silent when the Chair crosses into management territory
• founder or shareholder influence is being carried through the Chair-CEO relationship
• the board has never formally reviewed how the Chair-CEO dynamic operates

Prefer to pay by EFT or purchase order? Email liam@northseat.com.au and we’ll arrange it.