The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) in its efforts to contribute to the professional advancement of directors and in promoting practices that are beneficial to directors and their organisations is conducting a Master Course on ‘Managing Difficult Conversations on the Board’ targeting directors and potential board members. 
This is a highly interactive course that focuses on building interpersonal dispute resolution skills for board directors. It is designed to help directors understand board conflict and conflict styles and it covers difficult scenarios that directors often encounter, strengthening the board’s deliberations, decision-making, board evaluation discussions and overall performance.

This practical workshop is conducted by the SLID together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Corporate Governance Group, that provides corporate governance advisory services to individual companies and firms and offers targeted client services in areas such as increasing board effectiveness, improving the control environment and family business governance. 

The course is designed by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), which is Europe’s largest independent alternative dispute resolution service and the leading negotiation and conflict management trainer, internationally acclaimed for its mediator skills training. It also consults globally on civil justice reform and helps businesses develop conflict management systems. 

Some of the session topics include: 

Understanding board conflicts

Conflict styles, dealing with conflict avoidance

Framework for having a difficult conversation

How to start a conversation well

Finding out what is really going on/exploration

Managing emotions

Strategies for breaking through to an agreement

Managing coalitions, methods of influencing 

Through case analysis and interactive learning exercises, participants will practice the leadership skills required to manage disputes and difficult conversations on the board. Selected participants will have a unique opportunity to receive confidential one-on-one consultation with a professional experienced mediator.

The programme will be held on February 8 and 9, 2018, at Galle Face Hotel Colombo. Two foreign experts from these organisations – Susanne Schuler and Alexey Volynets – will be flying down to deliver the two-day training.

Susanne Schuler joined CEDR as Assistant Director of Training in 2013. As part of her role she contributes a combination of strategic input, team leadership and training delivery across the entire range of CEDR training and consultancy services, with primary focus on CEDR’s Mediator Skills training programme. 
Schuler is an experienced business and intercultural trainer, conflict mediator and coach. Her legal studies, business experience and her work in diversity combine effectively in her mediation role. Schuler’s work covers community mediation as well as corporate and commercial mediation.

Schuler has trained over 1,000 delegates from more than 30 different nationalities in mediation, conflict management, negotiation techniques and diversity and inclusion. She also has facilitated more than 100 mediation and conflict management cases (mainly organisational, intercultural and community conflicts) and successfully helped her customers to resolve their conflicts in a constructive way. 

Alexey Volynets is a Corporate Governance Officer in the Environment, Social and Governance Department of IFC. He works at the IFC Corporate Governance Programme’s global headquarters in Washington, D.C. and specializes in design and delivery of capacity-building products and programmes. Specifically, he oversees the thematic programmes Managing Corporate Governance Disputes, Governance of Small and Medium Enterprises and Corporate Governance Media Programme (training journalists to properly understand and cover corporate governance issues). 

In this capacity, he coordinates development of training programmes, materials and publications and works closely with IFC regional corporate governance programmes to guide their local rollout and adaptation. 

Volynets has a degree in electromechanical engineering from Saint-Petersburg Mining University (Russia) and a degree in media management from the University of Missouri-Columbia (United States). He also received training and coaching as an adult trainer from the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London, United Kingdom.

This is the second time that this programme is organised in Sri Lanka based on the request received from the SLID members. Those who wish to participate in this programme may contact the SLID on 0112301646/8 or email to [email protected].

Disagreements in the boardroom are unavoidable. Especially when the board has independent-minded, skilled and outspoken directors, each contributing expertise and talent that is relevant for the future of the company.