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Program Type
Leadership Program
Training Category
Governance
Program Duration
2 days
Language
English
About Program
A two-day interactive executive program designed to help senior leaders prepare for the transition from executive roles to board membership. The program covers the role of the board and the distinction between executive management and governance, board structures and committees, directors’ responsibilities, board dynamics, and decision-making under pressure. It also helps participants identify the value they can bring to a board, develop their board value proposition and board biography, and better understand the pathways to securing a suitable board opportunity. The program concludes with a practical 12-month board journey plan, including clear first steps to support participants in pursuing their first board appointment. Through the application of scenario planning techniques and multi-dimensional strategic analysis, the program equips participants to respond flexibly and effectively to uncertainty and sudden changes in today’s complex and rapidly evolving business environment. It provides practical tools to assess risks, analyze opportunities, and make data-driven decisions, enhancing the board’s readiness to face future challenges and achieve its strategic goals. Participants will engage in a variety of interactive activities, including case studies, board meeting simulations, and hands-on training sessions designed to develop skills in collective leadership, conflict management, and motivating high performance among board members. Ultimately, the program ensures that participants gain the knowledge and tools necessary to strengthen the board’s ability to make informed, multi-dimensional decisions and deliver sustainable value to the organization as a whole.
Program Goals
Distinguish governing from managing: setting direction, overseeing, correcting course and accounting, and the responsibilities this implies.
Navigate the Saudi governance framework, board types, committees, independence and board size, and identify where their competence fits.
Apply the duties of care and loyalty, conflicts, confidentiality, liability, indemnity and insurance to real boardroom dilemmas.
Read a board pack critically and ask the questions a prepared director asks.
Build trust with chairs and owners and contribute effectively to board dynamics and decisions under pressure.
d value proposition, board biography and positioning statement, and commit to a 12-month board journey plan with three first moves in 90 days.
Join us for an unforgettable journey of exceptional learning
The programme is experiential. Every session runs action or simulation, observation, reflection, one insight and transfer, recorded as an entry in the participant’s board journey plan. Facilitator input is limited to 20 minutes per session (80 minutes on day 1 and 30 minutes on day 2). Four concepts underpin the design: the experiential cycle, trust as the currency of appointment, how appointments are made, and structural tension. Activities include observed team tasks, a board pack case, a two-round board simulation and a panel of chairs and directors, co-facilitated by The Financial Academy and Mithaq360.It includes discussion sessions to explore future challenges and analyze economic scenarios affecting the financial sector. The curriculum emphasizes developing practical tools to measure board effectiveness and improve decision-making dynamics within the board. It also enhances effective interaction and communication between board members and executive leadership to drive sustainable organizational value.
Program Structure
2 Days
Duration
English
Language
In-Person
Delivery Method
Eight sessions plus a reflective walk opening day 2
Number of Training Sessions
Online self-assessment and board biography (about 2.5 hours), sent two weeks before
Pre-work
Online lessons within one week; two 30-minute coaching calls at 30 and 60 days
Follow-through
Board value proposition, board biography, positioning statement, 12-month plan
Participant products
Program Agenda
In Class Training
Agreement line on six statements about board life; one business decision taken twice, as an executive committee and as a board.
What it means to govern: setting direction (purpose, outcomes, value and for whom, limits, values), overseeing, correcting course and accounting, as distinct from developing and implementing plans.
Plan entry: what draws me to a board role; executive habits to set aside.
In Class Training
Gallery of five board types (who appoints, what they look for, realistic first appointment); committee mapping of 12 board matters.
The Saudi governance framework as a map; committees, independence and board size.
Plan entry: board types to consider and decline; committees where my competence fits.
In Class Training
Dilemma walk on four boardroom dilemmas; role cards for chair, CEO, directors and board secretary across six scenarios.
Duties of care and loyalty, conflicts, confidentiality, liability, indemnity and insurance; the mandate as an act of entrusting.
Plan entry: mandates I would accept; questions before accepting.
In Class Training
Board pack case in small groups: critical issues and the five questions a prepared director asks, ranked across groups.
What boards oversee; reading a board pack for what is missing.
Plan entry: board functions I can be entrusted with; competency profile.
In Class Training
The path of least resistance: movement comes from the tension between aspiration and current reality, in small and systematic steps.
Plan entry: aspiration and current reality, one sentence each, as the two poles of the plan.
Reflective walk in pairs on one prompt: what shifted on day 1 and what each participant now wants; back in the room each writes one line of aspiration and one of current reality.
In Class Training
Observed team task with rotating chairs and competing stakeholder briefs; panel of experienced chairs and directors.
Trust as the currency of appointment: competence, reliability, intimacy and low self-orientation.
Plan entry: my trust profile; one dimension to build; one relationship to develop.
In Class Training
Two-round simulated board meeting on a contentious, time-sensitive issue, with observers.
Debrief: the risks a director takes on (reputational, legal, financial, relational) and the questions to add to due diligence before accepting.
Plan entry: how I contribute; what I will practise; why a chair would put me forward.
In Class Training
The Saudi appointment process built on the wall from the chairs’ accounts; aspiration worksheet; board resume extract; positioning statement.
What nomination committees look for; the board matrix; weak ties; due diligence before accepting.
Plan entry: portfolio objective; positioning statement; board biography version 2.
In Class Training
Network map; structural tension chart; feedforward in pairs; commitment circle.
Routes to a first seat; advancing structures.
Plan entry: twelve-month plan with three first moves in 90 days.
Trainers
Acceptance Process
The program targets board members and CEOs in the financial sector, with a focus on enhancing board effectiveness. Enrollment requires leadership experience or prior institutional experience. Admission and registration are based on approved eligibility criteria and seat availability. Participants must commit to attending both full days of the program.
Admission Criteria
Professional Level:
Applicants should be C-suite executives.
Professional Experience:
Applicants should have at least 15 years of professional experience.
Board Membership Readiness:
Applicants should be seeking their first board appointment within the next one to three years.
Program Scope:
The program is not intended for individuals seeking a formal board director certification or diploma.
Application Process: Your Journey Starts Here
The admissions team will carefully review all elements of your application. The selection process will take up to eight weeks from the date of submission of a completed application.
Step 1
Online application and video interview
Step 2
Pre-selection and decision
Step 3
Interview with acceptance
Step 4
Admission Committee
Step 5
Final decision
Investing In Your Future
The programme invests in executives who can move into board roles with a clear understanding of what the role demands and the risks it carries, and with a concrete plan for a first appointment. Its value continues after the programme through the 12-month plan, online lessons and coaching.
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