Application
The governing body should clarify that all its members have collective responsibility for
its decisions and have equal status in discussions. The chair and other governors should
challenge individual governors if they do not respect constructive challenge by others or if
they do not support this collective responsibility for fulfi lling the organisation’s purpose and
for working towards intended outcomes for citizens and users of services.
The governing body should set out a clear statement of the respective roles and
responsibilities of the non-executives and the executive and its approach to putting this into
practice.
The roles of chair and chief executive should be separate and provide a check and
balance for each other’s authority. The chair and the chief executive should negotiate their
respective roles early in the relationship (within a framework in which the chair leads the
governing body and the chief executive leads and manages the organisation) and should
explain these clearly to the governing body and the organisation as a whole.