A governance style

Catalyst

Drive meaningful change.

You challenge the assumptions the board has stopped questioning.

The question a Catalyst is most likely to ask

“What are we treating as fixed that no longer has to be?”

How a Catalyst describes the value they bring

“I surface the assumption the room has stopped testing, and I push for movement.”

You challenge assumptions, open up new possibilities, and help move the board from discussion to action.

Contributes

Momentum and innovation

What the research findsDirectors carry habitual routines for taking in information and forming judgments, and those routines shape how a board works.van Ees, Gabrielsson & Huse (2009)

What a Catalyst brings, and what to watch

Every perspective brings strengths — and creates its own blind spots.

What they bring

  • Challenge assumptions
  • Create momentum
  • Push difficult decisions forward
  • Open up new possibilities

Where to lean in

  • Ask the difficult question others are working around.
  • Encourage the board to test something small.
  • Keep complacency out of the room.

Watch for

  • Can move the board toward action before alignment is there
  • Can introduce more change than the organization can absorb
  • Sometimes values speed over consensus
  • Can move so quickly toward the outcome that process gets less attention

What helps

  • Build support before driving the change.
  • Pause long enough for everyone to understand the why.
  • Ask who needs to come with you.
The growth question

“How do we bring others with us?”

Working with a Catalyst

What the other three bring to the same table.

StewardPressure-tests the change.They will look for risk, precedent and what needs protecting, and they move more slowly than you do.Ask: “What are we protecting?”
StrategistConnects it to the broader plan.They will want to see how your idea fits the direction the board has already committed to.Ask: “Which part of the plan does this replace?”
NavigatorSpots what could shift as you move.They will be alert to changing signals and to consequences you have not planned for.Ask: “What would make us stop?”

The four perspectives

Any of them can be a board’s strength. A board needs the range.

StewardStability and judgmentStrategistDirection and opportunityCatalystMomentum and innovationYou are hereNavigatorAwareness and adaptability

Which perspective do you bring?

Ten questions, about three minutes.

Take the assessment