What is the IoD Ireland Bespoke Board Training Service? | Frequently Asked Questions

IoD Ireland's Bespoke Board Training service provides customised governance and board development opportunities designed specifically for the needs of your board. 

We design and deliver tailored training that strengthens board effectiveness, enhances governance oversight and supports better decision-making. Each customised training session is shaped around the organisation's context, sector, governance knowledge and strategic priorities, ensuring the training is both relevant and impactful. 

The service covers a wide range of critical areas, designed to equip your board with the strategic insights and tools needed to navigate today's complex governance landscape. We provide in-depth guidance on: 

• The evolution of corporate governance and emerging best practices.
• Key corporate governance codes and statutory frameworks. 
• Directors' duties, responsibilities, and compliance obligations. 
• Managing potential liabilities and conflicts of interest. 
• Defining the board's role and key tasks. 
• Matters resevered for the board and delegated authority structures. 
• Optimising board composition and the role of board committees. 
• Comprehensive board induction programs. 
• Navigating board dilemmas and challenges. 
• Effective risk management strategies. 

Our bespoke approach ensures that every topic is tailored to your board's specific needs, enhancing governance, decision-making, and long-term success. 

Bespoke board development allows boards to step back, reflect and strengthen how they operate. 

As reflected by IoD Ireland CEO Caroline Spillane CDir, "being a director is a privilege but also comes with responsibility. A director is one of the most comprehensive and impactful positions in any organisation". 

To thrive, Boards and Directors must continuously develop their skills, balancing core competencies such as finance, governance, and strategy, with leadership qualities like behavioural risk management and team collaboration. Additionally, embracing innovative technologies and practices is crucial for staying ahead in today's dynamic business landscape. 

By investing in bespoke board training, your board can clarify roles and responsibilities, improve oversight, enhance boardroom dynamics and build confidence in navigating current and emerging challenges. 

We are trusted partner of boards in their director development. We offer: 

• A safe space for real board conversations: Our bespoke board training is delivered within a highly confidential and trusted environment. From initial scoping though to delivery and follow-up, boards can engage openly, knowing discretion and independence are assured. 
• Not off-the-shelf. Not generic: Every engagement is shaped around your board's specific context, challenges and stage of development. We work with you to design a focused, relevant learning experience that supports stronger governance and more effective board decision-making.
• Insight that translates into action: We equip boards with clear, actionable governance insights and practical tools they can apply immediately. The focus is on improving board effectiveness, strengthening oversight and supporting sustainable organisational success. 
• Credibility that boards recognise: Our facilitators, governance specialists and subject-matter experts bring lived boardroom experience across PLCs, private companies, SMEs, state bodies and not-for-profit organisations. This ensures discussions are grounded, informed and immediately relevant. 

The IoD Ireland Bespoke Board Training service is tailored to the specific needs, maturity and strategic amibitions of each board. Whether it is enhancing collective decision-making, improving boardroom behaviours, or deepening directors' understanding of their responsibilities and stakeholder expectations, our board training offerings are crafted to build capability and confidence. 

IoD Ireland's insight into what boards need for effective, ongoing development comes from working at the coalface of governance. Through our external board evalution work combined with close, trusted relationships with our members and client organisations, many of them leaders in their sectors, we are embedded in real boardroom conversations across the economy. This proximity gives us early visibility of emerging challenges and ensures our governance expertise is practical, current and grounded in lived boardroom experience. 

Our training is delivered by a team of seasoned practitioners. Chartered Directors and governance specialists who understand the nuance of effective governance and the challenges facing today's boards. 

Our bespoke board training process is broken down to five stages: 

• Assess: We begin with a focused consultation to identify your board's composition, context and strategic challenges. This helps us to identify clear development priorities aligned to your governance responsibilities and objectives. 
• Design: A bespoke programme is then tailored for your board based on the insights gained. This can include targeted workshops, facilitated strategy discussions, scenario-based exercises or briefings on emerging governance issues. 
• Deliver: Our expert faculty team deliver your bespoke training programme. Sessions are designed to encourage open dialogue, constructive challenge and meaningful reflection. 
• Embed: We align delivery to your board's schedule and priorities, ensuring engagement, relevance and impact. 
• Review & Evolve: Outcomes are reviewed against the agreed objectives and, where appropriate, next steps are identified to support the board's ongoing development over time. 

Our bespoke training service covers a wide range of key topics that will help your board to navigate today's complex governance landscape. 

From the fundamentals of corporate governance to navigating complex board dynamics, our bespoke board training addresses the realities of modern governance. We deliver flexible, practical and interactive learning tailored to your organisation's needs, strengthening boards, enhancing leadership and supporting sustainable success. 

These board topics include: 

Governance Foundations 

• Principles of corproate governance
• Legal and regulatory frameworks
• Directors' duties and responsibilities
• Understanding the role of the Board vs Management
• Governance codes and compliance

Board Dynamics and Effectiveness

• Board composition, diversity and succession
• Board culture and dynamics
• Enhancing boardroom performance 
• Navigating boardroom challenges and dilemmas
• Matters reserved for the Board and delegated authorities

Leadership Roles on the Board

• Chairing the Board: Skills, challenges and best practices
• Leading Board Committees (Audit, Risk, Remuneration, Nominations)
• Becoming a Non-Executive Director

Governance across Structures

• Governance for Subsidiary Boards
• Governance for family-owned or founder-led companies
• Setting up and governing a newly formed board
• Governance in joint ventures or public sector entities

Risk and Strategy Oversight

• Effective risk management at Board level
• Scenario planning and strategic foresight
• Crisis governance and resilience planning
• ESG and sustainability governance

Finance and Capital Oversight

• Finance for Non-Financial Directors (board-focused)
• Reading and questioning financial statements
• Audit, internal controls and financial risk
• Capital allocation and investment decisions
• M&A, disposals and major transactions (board oversight)
• Financial resilience, solvency and going-concern risk

Board-Executive Team Collaboration

• Building effective board-executive relationships
• Clarifying roles: Board oversight vs executive delivery
• Creating a high-functioning leadership interface
• Strategy and risk oversight collaboration

Board Lifecycle Support

• Comprehensive board induction programmes
• Director refresh and development planning
• Evaluating and improving board performance
• Transitioning to a Board role (for executives)

Specialist Topics

• ESG and sustainability governance
• Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies 
• Regulatory and compliance oversight
• Crisis management and reputation risk
• Culture, conduct and behavioural risk 

Our team of highly skilled and experienced corporate governance experts bring extensive hands-on experience from working at board level to training sessions. 

Our expert Faculty include: 

• Dr Margaret Cullen: Margaret advises on governance training, research and advocacy. She is a specialist in the areas of corporate, bank and investment fund governance. 
• Carol Bolger CDir: Carol is a Chartered Director and course leader on the IoD Chartered Director Programme. She has extensive experience from senior roles in Business & Corporate Banking at Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank. Previously, she was Chair of An Post. 
• Professor Simon Haslam CDir: Simon is a Chartered Director and course leader on the IoD Chartered Director Programme. He is a Visiting Professor at Durham University where he leads the Strategic Management of its Global MBA programme.
• Dr. Wieke Scholten: Wieke is a Social and Organisational Psychologist with 20 years of experience in behavioural analysis in organisations. She's previously been Head of Audit for Behavioural Risk at NatWest group and former Senior Supervisor of Behaviour & Culture at Dutch Central Bank. 
• Garvan Callan: Garvan is a Strategist, Innovator and Transformation Advisor and leads on our Digital and AI for Boards: Mastering the Essentials workshop. 
• Dr. Valerie Lyons: Valerie is an accomplished and driven cybersecurity and privacy leadership expert. Her career spans over 30 years - working in both cybersecurity and privacy teams. She currently leads on our Cybersecurity and Data Protection Governance workshop. 
• Caroline Kirrane CFA: Caroline is a course leader on the IoD Chartered Director Programme and leads on our Corporate Finance workshops. She has over a decade of experience working in financial markets. 
• Jim Breslin: Jim is a Chair, Non-Executive Director and former Secretary General. He leads our Corporate Governance in Practice and Governance of State Bodies workshops as well as delivering bespoke board training. 

Combining strong technical governance expertise with real-world boardroom insight, our expert team provides your board with informed discussions, constructive challenge and practical application. 

Yes. Our bespoke board training service is delivered with the highest level of confidentiality. From the initial consultation to delivery, we ensure a trusted and secure environment for your board. 

IoD Ireland has provided bespoke board development across a wide range of sectors including: 

• Financial and Professional Services
• Food, Agri-Business & FMCG
• Technology, Digital & Innovation-Led Businesses
• Life Sciences, Healthcare & MedTech 
• Energy, Utilities & Infrastructure 
• Manufacturing & Engineering
• Construction & Property
• Retail, Consumer & Hospitality
• Transport, Logistics & Supply Chain
• Media, Communications & Creative Industries
• Education & Research Institutions
• Charities, Not-for-Profit & Voluntary Sector
• State Bodies & Semi-State Organisations
• Family-Owned, Private & Scaling Enterprises

Our customised board training programmes are designed for maximum flexibility, relevance and impact. We tailor delivery to your board's schedule, location and dynamics, ensuring a high-quality learning experience in every format. 

All sessions are tried, tested and led by experienced board-level facilitators, with a seamless experience whatever the delivery mode. 

Our delivery options include: 

• In-person at an agreed venue: Ideal for focused, interactive discussion in a dedicated setting. 
• On-site in your boardroom: Bringing the learning directly to your organisation for maximum relevance. 
• Fully virtual: Enabling participation across locations without compromising engagement or quality. 
• Hybrid delivery: Combining in-person and online attendance to ensure flexibility and full inclusion. 

Simply reach out to the Board Services Team. The Team will be in touch to schedule an initial consultation to discuss your board's needs, objectives and context. 

Following this discussion, we will send you a proposal and programme designed to align to your priorities. Once approved, we'll coordinate on a date, time and place for training to take place that works best for your board.