What we look for

Capabilities

Applications are welcomed from people who consider they have the appropriate skills, experience and capabilities to be appointed as a Crown director.

In providing appointment advice to Ministers, Treasury considers member composition across individual boards and the Crown portfolio, ensuring there is a mix of capabilities and diversity. It also considers how candidates skills and experience support Government goals, the entity’s specific goals and strategic priorities.

Treasury welcomes applications from people who can demonstrate the knowledge, skills, attributes, behaviours and personal qualities critical for organisational stewardship, and required for particular roles on the board.

Key Objectives of the Framework

to articulate future fit governance capability in a period when governance expectations are rapidly changing
to provide a common language across Ministers, Chairs, candidates, and Treasury’s Governance & Appointments team in the appointments process, including to support appointment recommendations
to underpin the attraction, recruitment, selection, development and performance of governance and director talent
to improve, enhance and support board diversity and inclusion
to help establish, maintain and lift the performance of Crown entity companies and State Owned Enterprise (SOE) boards
to assist in identifying and developing governance potential in candidates with little or no governance experience – future directors.

The Framework has been developed as a resource to assist Crown entity companies and State Owned Enterprise (SOE) board governance. It is not mandatory, nor is it a legal or compliance framework.

Capabilities for all Board Members

There are a total of 27 capabilities for all board members that fall into three areas under this framework:

Crown Companies portfolio alignment - demonstrates awareness of context, understanding of own motivations, and commitment to requirements.
Skills, Knowledge & Experience - the expertise that a director brings to the role, and their understanding and appropriate applications of practical and theoretical information.
Behaviours, Attributes and Characteristics - the way they think, their attitude, and their disposition that shapes a directors’ responses and behaviours.

There are an additional 8 capabilities that are critical to those members designated as chair.

	CAPABILITY	DESCRIPTORS
Crown Companies portfolio alignment - demonstrates awareness of context, understanding of own motivations and commitment to requirements	Familiarity with the public service	Has an awareness of shared outcomes across- government and of relevant provisions of the Public Service Act, such as purpose, principles and values, and spirit of service.
	Understands Crown relationship	Understands the relationship with the Crown, including a commitment to have regard or give effect to government expectations, objectives and priorities. Forms trusted and productive relationships with The Treasury monitoring and appointment teams.
	Understands Te Tiriti	Understands how Te Tiriti and the principles of Te Tiriti, (Rangatiratanga, Kaitiakitanga, Manaakitanga, Whanaungatanga etc) impacts on the delivery of the entity’s services.
	Embraces diversity and inclusion	Supports and embraces diverse thinking, experiences and perspectives. Values the contributions, presence and perspectives of people from diverse backgrounds. Has the courage to support or express diverse thoughts around the Board table
	Accountability	Is ultimately accountable to the shareholding Minister/s for ensuring they adhere to or have regard to relevant legislation and policy issued by the New Zealand Government and for delivering value to consumers, the broader community and staff. This may also include driving performance and ensuring the entity pays dividends to shareholders.
	Adaptability	Understands and adapts to the political and public expectations context of the day and actively maintains interactions and political awareness at a strategic level. Adapts their governance approach to reflect the government environment and/or the context the organisation operates within.
	Responsibility	Is responsible and accountable and has a commitment to collective decision-making, and the principle of ‘the board speaks with one voice’ when interacting with shareholders, management and employees. Acts in the best interest of the entity; and understands their fiduciary responsibility and duty to protect the entity’s assets and shareholders’/ members’/investors’ interests in the organisation.
	Takes a wellbeing approach	Considers a broad range of impacts over domains of wellbeing for Aotearoa New Zealand individual and collective, now and into the future
Skills, Knowledge & Experience - the expertise that a director brings to the role and their understanding and appropriate applications of practical and theoretical information	Core governance skills - Financial management, risk management, legal and compliance	Can demonstrate fluency, knowledge, or expertise in: the identification, assessment, and mitigation of strategic, political, financial, operational, regulatory, compliance and reputational risks to minimise their impact or maximise the realisation of opportunities analysing financial and performance statements, assessing financial viability and performance efficiency and effectiveness, overseeing financial and operational planning and funding arrangements examining, understanding, and interpreting financial reports and concepts financial and performance oversight, preparing and delivering budgets and interpreting a chart of accounts interpreting and monitoring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
	Strategic approach and takes a broad perspective	Demonstrates big picture thinking and maintains a strategic outlook. Can identify and critically assess strategic opportunities and threats to an organisation. Able to contribute to or drive strategy formulation, direction, implementation and communication. Comprehends the world-wide context and the economic, sustainability, social and political impacts on the organisation.
	Governance focus	Distinguishes governance from management, understands governance functions and maintains a governance focus (including separation of powers). Can provide guidance and support to management/executives at the appropriate times.
	Technical/specialist expertise	Has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skills and experience through practice and education in a particular field.
	Specific sector and industry knowledge	Establishes and maintains specific sector knowledge and applies it at the governance level. Seeks to develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of the business sector/industry.
	Makes timely and clear decisions	Understands and adapts to the political and public expectations context of the day and actively maintains interactions and political awareness at a strategic level. Adapts their governance approach to reflect the government environment and/or the context the organisation operates within.
	Responsibility	Makes timely and transparent decisions that reflect a commitment to organisational sustainability and strategic vision; acts in good faith, and publicly stands by agreed Board position; has experience of high-level decision making.
	Contributes to stakeholder engagement including Tangata Whenua	Connects with stakeholders; ensures that appropriate mechanisms are in place to inform and engage with stakeholders, including a willingness to engage community/members, to further the achievement of organisational objectives. Knowledge of how Te Ao Māori (the Māori Worldview), mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), contemporary Māori perspectives and values could be incorporated in the entity’s work.
	Analysis and evaluation	Understands the data analysis process and how to ascertain validity of information provided. Can evaluate and assess the adequacy and relevance of information and seek further information and clarification when information is insufficient, missing or inadequate.
	Problem solving	When faced with crucial business problems at a strategic level, has the ability to define, understand, asks great questions and proposes ideas in order to facilitate optimal solutions.
	Leadership and collaboration	Works together to provide organisational leadership; respects differences and values diversity; supports the Chair and CEO to meet their obligations; and shows a desire and commitment to participate and contribute to good decisions.
Behaviours, Attributes and Characteristics - the way they think, their attitude, and their disposition that shapes a directors’ responses and behaviours	Emotionally intelligent and demonstrates empathy	Is self-aware and understands, manages and displays own emotions in positive ways to communicate effectively, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Understands the feelings and needs of others and is empathetic, compassionate and fair-minded.
	Can work with ambiguity and uncertainty	Deals comfortably with the uncertainty of change; can decide and act without the total picture, is calm and productive even when things are up in the air and deals constructively with problems that do not have clear outcomes or solutions.
	Respectful	Treats others with respect and uplifts the mana of others. Understands the value of the group and respects his or her role within in. Respects the applicable laws and protocols around privacy and confidentiality of information inwards and outwards and has a security conscious disposition.
	Diligent and hardworking	Shows duty of care, conscientiousness, and persistence. Is committed to a high-trust, high-challenge, and high-engagement. Is described as hardworking and dependable and will be well prepared and on time.
	High standards of integrity and ethics	Committed to ‘doing the right thing’, is truthful, fair, and honest, and puts the interests of the organisation above their own. Shows that they act ethically, are trustworthy and has sound judgement. Is open-minded and considers multiple stakeholder views. Is expected to act in the public interest with independence and transparency, effectively managing actual and perceived conflicts of interest.
	Curiosity and a ‘learning mindset’	Has a strong desire to want to learn, asks the right questions, and seeks innovative solutions. Displays an eagerness for knowledge and information, an ongoing commitment to their learning and development, and has a learning mindset.
	Courageous	Has the ability to act and show courage and keep asking questions. When appropriate able to be assertive and tenacious in challenging board colleagues and the management team in a respectful manner. Need to be able to make or be part of decisions in the best interest of the company, which are not always popular.
	A good listener and clear communicator	Has a good understanding of the key elements of communication and effective stakeholder engagement in the context of providing a public service, and the importance of transparency and public reporting. Listening to diverse views and/or minority voices, ensuring effective insight into, and response to, the views and expectations of different stakeholders within and outside the organisation. Has a willingness to change a position having heard other arguments.
	A diverse perspective or way of thinking based on life experience and demographics	Brings own unique characteristics of origin and experience that has shaped their diverse perspectives and unique identities -whether from demographic factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, location, and education/qualifications, or other factors such as religious affiliation, health & disability, LGBTI affinity, service/customer user experience, family status, lifestyle, values, political views, and international experience.
The following additional capabilities are critical to Crown Board Chairs	Leads a high performing Board	Demonstrates leadership; inspires trust and confidence in Board members; creates an inclusive environment; fosters collaborative processes; provides a positive public face to the organisation; demonstrates commitment to organisational values; resolves disputes; can influence without dominating; is focussed on improving the performance of directors, individually and collectively; fosters development of the Board and ensures regular review of Board performance;
	Establishes a dynamic and productive relationship with the CEO	Establishes clarity about the role of Board and role of CEO; delegates management to CEO; encourages trust and regular communication; provides direction to the CEO in line with Board decisions; ensures the Board engages constructively and honestly with the CEO to evaluate performance against stated objectives.
	Visionary and future focused	Spends decision-making time looking forward; possesses an entrepreneurial spirit; has commercial acumen; understands their organisation operates in a fast-changing environment; is a system-thinker; a risk taker, balances the risk of taking chances with the traditional stewardship responsibilities of board service.
	Establishes enduring relationships with key stakeholders	Helps connect their organisation to the world around them, exploring new partnerships and alliances that will support their purpose and mission, and advance their strategic plans. Understands the roles of other entities in the wider system and is willing to collaborate/work with them for the benefit of the wider system
	Chairs regular and focused meetings	Adheres to clear agendas and timeframes for discussion, supports and focuses discussion, manages differences of opinion and ensures that clear outcomes are agreed, and actions are carried out; promotes Board engagement; ensures balanced input and listens to all points of view; calls special meetings of the Board or subcommittees as required
	Committed to supporting new and future director talent	Is committed to improving the capability of future governance talent through supporting the development and appointments of potential and future directors.
	Inspires high standards	Inspires each board member to agree and uphold high standards, and takes action when a board member is not in alignment with these standards.
	Is progressive and holds the board, CEO, and management to account	Is committed to the continuous improvement of their own leadership and the performance of their board, CEO, and management team, and to regular board evaluations. Is forward thinking and cognisant of board succession planning.

Diversity & Inclusion

It is more critical than ever that Crown boards include the best governance talent so they can make good decisions on the many complex issues their organisations face, and drive performance. Diversity and inclusion on Crown boards is a key priority as it improves board and organisational performance through effective decision-making, guidance and risk management. Robust discussions about challenging issues require deep insight, multiple angles, and collective experience.

Many different variables describe and define diversity, such as:

Age
Ethnicity
Gender
Education
Skills
Career Experience
Competencies
Philosophies
Life experiences
Race
Religion

The wide range of perspectives that come from these variables are critical to diversity of thought and good governance.