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Johanne Bouchard

"The Leadership Whisperer" : Fostering healthy individuals and healthy organizations.

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Women at Zynga & “Demystifying Boards”

Women at Zynga & “Demystifying Boards”
Johanne on the panel, second from left.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of being on a panel about demystifying boards presented by Zynga, a company whose HR and communication teams have taken the lead to educate and inspire their employees about board service. Many Zynga employees are young and embracing the early stages of their careers, and the company’s commitment to nurturing their interest in and understanding of boards and what they can aspire to benefits both the company and the employees in the short and long term.

Thursday’s event covered “Everything You Need to Know About Why, How & When to Join a Board.” The atmosphere was vibrant and informal, and I was glad to be among expert fellow panelists Ellen Siminoff (representing Zynga’s Board of Directors), Amanda Packel (of Stanford Law School / Rock Center for Corporate Governance) and Kelly Bathgate (from Tipping Point Community). Erin Baudo Felter, Director of Employee & Community Impact for Zynga, effectively moderated our panel.

image001-2We took turns sharing our knowledge and experience of boards, covering what boards do, what they are responsible for and why they are important to an organization. We discussed the different types of boards, what makes a good board member, what to consider before joining a board and how to set yourself up to be a strong candidate for a board of directors.

I personally emphasized that to succeed in your career you don’t have to be on a board, but that there are skills and experience that will benefit you if you do seek board membership. I also pointed out that board service is a great opportunity to express some of your talents and make a positive impact. I shared that board commitments require a strategic understanding of business, given that a board is “the highest authority of an organization,” bound by a duty to ensure that the organization is successful– that it creates shareholder value and that it best serves the entity’s stakeholders.

Many of the attendees wondered how boards can understand the business without being involved in the day-to-day and make the right decisions. To this, I made a remark that as one builds her/his career, it is important to have a great ability to think strategically, understanding the big picture across functional areas and learning not to be blind-sided as a manager and as a leader.

Panel audience at Zynga
Panel audience at Zynga

I was glad to participate in this panel, as I am an advocate for diversity of skills, talents and experience within our boards, inclusive of gender, age and ethnicity. I also advocate for younger people to understand the role of a board, how it works and how they can be part of it in the course of their career.

With the strategic cycles of businesses shrinking, and the numerous complexities of operating in a digital world, the demand for strong board composition that is in alignment with the strategic trajectory of an organization is high. The days of homogeneous board composition are passé. I value being a catalyst for people to dream of possibilities and to have an open mind about the many ways that their careers can evolve while better understanding how leadership works for an organization. (Do you realize that most employees don’t really understand the role of a board and its relationship with the CEO? How can they then ascertain how to build a career path to lead them to being on a board?)

After the panel, I took the time to speak with some employees, to gain their insights, and I was glad to confirm that we had pinged their interest and curiosity. When I was in the early stages of my career path, there were few people (if any) who encouraged me to pursue board membership or explained how it might expand my horizons. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to fill that role for this group, to some extent. Through my work, I care to inspire across generations, and for the past decade I have committed time and developed programs targeted at growing young people’s leadership potential, sense of purpose and fulfillment across all sectors of their lives.

Thank you Zynga, for organizing the event and for pursuing a company culture that considers the big picture for our younger generations!

Johanne Bouchard

Johanne Bouchard, a serial entrepreneur and former high-tech marketing executive, is a governance and leadership advisor to boards, CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs, as well as an expert in board composition and dynamics. An accomplished author and blogger, Johanne has published a number of eBooks, and her articles have been published in Ethical Boardroom and NACD's Directorship. She is an advocate for STEM, increased diversity in the boardroom and patients' rights.

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1 Comment Filed Under: Boards, Diversity, Speaking Engagements Tagged With: 2020 Women on Boards, Amanda Packel, board diversity, board education, board leadership, board of directors, board service, Ellen Siminoff, Erin Baudo Felter, Kelly Bathgate, mentoring, zynga

Comments

  1. Linda Lovold says

    February 29, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    Very compelling Johanne. I wish I was younger & still able to be involved. You are inspiring!

    Reply

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The meeting was fantastic. It was an undisputable success. The interaction was superior and beyond what anyone could have thought was possible. Everyone embraced you and your skills in ways that I have never seen before. I learned a lot about the process and it has been very meaningful. It illuminated me into focused actions. It galvanized the entire executive team across the five business units. Really exciting…

- Audit Chair

Johanne, the offsite was terrific and you did a fabulous job leading us through some very challenging tasks. I have great faith in our leadership team. I’m glad the learning and collaboration will continue.

Excellent meeting.

Amazing meeting. Loved it.

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You did a very good job. I like the process, like the rigor, like the completeness and the sensitivity with which you presented tough issues. I like the individual profiles and how they lead to both learning for me as well as opportunity for team building.

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I recommended you for this task because I felt that the depth of inquiry and the thoroughness of your approach are important to bring the Board to a new level of quality and interaction. I found your work very complete and am glad that you brought to the surface a number of issues that have to be addressed to improve our effectiveness as a Board. Your observations and recommendations go to the heart of what makes a Board a team (and what gets in the way).

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Johanne has an innate ability to bring out the best in all whom she touches. She practices what she preaches – patience, courage, generosity, wisdom and humility. Her contributions have positively impacted our Company and working environment and will result in increased profitability and shareholder value.

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Johanne is truly exceptional at what she does. I've worked with many consultants over the years, and what sets her apart is the combination of her right- and left-brain skills. She knows how to listen, catch unspoken cues, instill trust and openness, while also being focused on the substance of the issues, the complexities of the situation and challenges, and the business issues that have to get solved. She is direct and candid while also unusually sensitive. By applying these skills, she helped us analyze what was going on in our business, shed light on the core management and governance issues, and facilitated our discussions among the decision makers about the next steps to take. I would work with her again in a heartbeat.

- Independent Director, Governance Committee

I have seen Johanne's skilled handling of important executive interfaces and her ability to quickly get to the heart of the issues and lead to results. That certainly happened here. I found that even in cases where the participants thought they had good communication we reached new levels of connection and candor, all helping us be most efficient at a time when that is most important in our company.

- Senior Vice President

Johanne has provided a mirror into myself. Helping me to step back and view my actions and true feelings. By her perceptive and insightful questioning she enabled me to look within. Just being able to speak openly about myself was most helpful. Without question this awareness is leading to positive change both personally and professionally. I find myself a more effective participant with both my direct reports, peers and my Board.

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I thank Johanne for her clarity and quick ability to cut through the clutter. She made a huge difference. I have grown a lot. Johanne’s exceptional wisdom for defining and supporting the needs of clients were a real asset to us. Johanne is exceptionally gifted at understanding how to balance and focus for success. I highly recommend her to any company looking to grow.

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Thank you so very much for the day of focus for our team. We really needed it and I do not believe we could have done it without you. You are such a wonderful friend of ours. I personally left feeling inspired and clear. You are a beautiful person to facilitate those connections.

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Thank you for such a productive session. It was wonderful to have your support and focus in connecting the team. Your constant guidance in finding clarity is a true gift for our organization.

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The time spent was of tremendous help to me personally as it gave me a chance to review all aspects of our operations. Johanne's attentiveness and level of support was remarkable. Her sense for the big picture will keep us all focused on the right priorities.

I can't thank Johanne enough.

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Johanne Bouchard is a pioneer and a leader who brings to the process of executive coaching and strategic planning a focused, high-energy and highly- effective approach. In a short time and in a seemingly effortless manner, she leads an individual or a team to a crystal-clear understanding of their core values, their goals and a path to achieving them.

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Johanne has a remarkable ability to inspire others to share with perfect honesty, overcome their own barriers, and find greater clarity for their purpose. Her dedication to her work comes from a sincere passion for guiding others in their quest for successful leadership and life skills. Johanne's encouraging style supports rather than leads, promotes as opposed to advises.

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- Ken Coleman- Board Chairman, Saama Technologies and special advisor to Andreessen Horowitz Venture Capital firm

Johanne worked with our board at Accelrys to enhance our effectiveness. She provided tremendous value and insight in a very collegial manner.

- Jeff Rodek - Former Chair and CEO of Hyperion, Former President and COO Ingram Micro 

Johanne Bouchard is a unique consultant and advisor who brings clarity to high urgency situations in short order. She has served several of the companies I am involved with as a Board member in various assignments including Board 360, Executive Team assessment, leading and facilitating strategic planning sessions, and CEO coaching. In all these assignments she has displayed dedication, creativity, depth, and an unerring focus on reflecting the reality of the situation and presenting it as such to the client, with concrete suggestions for improvement and increased efficiency. I highly recommend Johanne.

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If you have an organizational leadership problem to solve (the bigger the better) and need a tireless, objective collaborator to assist, challenge and drive you (and she WILL drive you), work with Johanne. And if you welcome the friendship that will grow from that experience, you couldn't do better.

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Johanne's work is, in a word, spectacular. She digs in on a project like no one I know, she is thorough, thoughtful, and does superb "inquiry" work early in a project. She brings a wealth of experience to her projects, including marketing expertise, consumer research, management and leadership insights, and insightful summaries of the issues. Her work is honest, clear, clean, and useful. She is a truth-finder and a truth-teller. Johanne is an intense, yet calm and measured expert - she knows where to look, what to ask, and how to propose key points and plans of action. Her logistics and organizational skills are world class, and her follow up is superb. As you can read, my professional opinion of Johanne is of the highest level. I believe she can excel at virtually any assignment or challenge presented.

- John Hamm - Strategy and Leadership Advisor, Former VC, Former TCG - The Chasm Group Advisors and Former CEO

I have known Johanne since the times she was building BOSS when helping high-tech executives and companies with globalization and International market development. She was a pioneer in her field helping American companies not treating International as an afterthought. She was an invaluable trusted advisor to senior executives and CEOs in need to succeed in Europe and in need to adjust their leadership style to grow their organizations overseas. I recommend Johanne to CEOs and Executives as a partner when significantly challenged to take their organizations to new levels. She has broad operating, marketing and leadership experience and a proven track record to continually deliver results. Her dynamism is infectious/inspirational.

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