Speaking the Language of Directorship

Language has impact. How we word things, the things we don’t say, and how we deliver our message all matter. For Earl Davis — a recent graduate of the Chartered Director Program at DeGroote School of Business’s The Directors College — language has taken on a substantial significance. That’s because the program, Davis says, has given him the ability to truly have his voice heard.

Enrolling in the program with 25 years of financial sector experience, Davis’s inspiration in seeking governance education is to influence change for the next generations of Black leaders.

And this means being at the tables where decisions that have a broader impact are made.

All Decisions Have an Impact

To give Davis, and his peers, a holistic skill set that allows them to meet their personal aspirations, the Chartered Director program recognizes the director role’s technical, structural, principle, and behavioural aspects. Through five modules, students learn how governance is defined, rules and practices, characteristics of effective directors and high performing boards, as well as communication strategies.

“This program is especially important today because the focus that’s coming out of it is on the corporation and all stakeholders,” says Davis. “All stakeholders include the environment and includes the social aspect of life. There’s a lot of volatility and turbulence now in regards to the environment, for example. And, all our decisions have an impact so you have to consider them. What the Director program reinforces, and makes explicit, is the consideration of those factors.”

As Davis begins to apply knowledge from the Director program into his own career, he says coming to understand the importance of dialogue can’t be understated. While Davis attended debate class in high school and has had plenty of public speaking experience since, he says the program illustrated how vital it is to not only speak effectively, but also to listen actively, internalize different perspectives, and ask the right questions.

“(In one of my modules, the instructor recommended), ‘Earl, one question. Focus in on one,’” Davis recalls.

Representation on Boards

The program is also in alignment with Davis’s aspiration to ensure diversity at tables where decision-making occurs. DeGroote has teamed up with distribution and integrated energy solutions provider Alectra to offer the Alectra Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Scholarship. It offers candidates who self-identify as part of Indigenous or racialized groups (which are underrepresented on corporate boards) the opportunity to attain governance education and certification by completing the Chartered Director Program. Davis is the scholarship’s first recipient.

Beyond seeking governance education to help future generations, Davis is also taking action. He is the co-founder of the Black Opportunity Fund. The initiative is seeking to raise a billion-dollar endowment fund. Half of the money will go to advance social causes. The remainder will help to advance entrepreneurship and Black-owned businesses and to provide support and resources.