What an effective board development programme should cover

In short: An effective board development programme builds what a board needs to do its job: a working grasp of director duties, the discipline to oversee strategy without running the company, and committees that handle audit and risk properly. In Oman and the wider Gulf it should also cover family-business boards and a broader pipeline of directors, including women. It works best as a recurring cycle linked to board evaluation, not a one-off workshop.

Start with what directors are accountable for

Many directors in the region join a board because of their standing in a sector, a shareholding or a family role, and only then learn what the seat requires of them. A programme should begin with duties: acting in the company's interest, exercising care and diligence, declaring and managing conflicts of interest, handling related-party transactions, keeping board matters confidential, and understanding when a director can be held personally liable.

In Oman, the framework starts with the Commercial Companies Law (Royal Decree 18/2019). Public listed companies also follow the Code of Corporate Governance for public joint stock companies, issued in 2015 by the Capital Market Authority. Oversight of that code now sits with the Financial Services Authority, which replaced the Capital Market Authority under Royal Decree 20/2024. Closed joint stock companies have their own Principles of Governance, issued by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion under Ministerial Decision 5/2025. The listed-company code provides for an induction programme within 90 days of a new board taking office and for governance training for directors. Rules are amended from time to time and differ by company type, so confirm the current text with the regulator or legal counsel. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Oversee strategy without managing the business

The most common board weakness is not ignorance of strategy but confusion about the board's role in it. Some boards approve management's plan with little challenge; others redo management's work. A programme should train directors in the middle path: the board sets direction, tests assumptions, approves the plan and holds management to it.

The most useful sessions work through real board papers and have directors practice questions such as:

• What has to be true in the market for this plan to succeed, and how will the board know early if it is not?
• Which three or four measures will the board track each quarter, and who owns each one?
• What capital, people and capabilities does the plan assume, and are they funded?
• What would lead the board to change course, and who has the authority to propose it?

Annual board retreats suit this work, because they make room to discuss direction rather than reports.

Make the audit and risk committees work

Committees carry much of a board's detailed work, and they need members who can read what is put in front of them. Under Oman's listed-company code, the audit committee has at least three directors, most of them independent, with at least one member experienced in finance and accounting, and an independent chair. The closed joint stock company principles also call for an audit and risk management committee. These requirements set a floor, not a standard of effectiveness.

Development for committee members should cover reading financial statements and management accounts, working with internal and external auditors, reviewing related-party transactions, setting risk appetite, and overseeing newer risk areas such as cybersecurity, data protection and regulatory change. Case exercises built on a realistic set of accounts teach more than lectures on standards.

Address family-business boards directly

Family-owned groups play a central role in Gulf economies, and their boards face issues that generic programmes skip. Ownership, management and family roles often sit with the same people. A board meeting can turn into a family discussion, and decisions about dividends, hiring relatives or selling a business line carry personal weight.

A programme for family-business boards should help members separate three forums: the family council for family matters, the general assembly for ownership decisions, and the board for oversight of the company. It should also cover the role of independent directors, preparing the next generation for board seats, and succession planning for both the chair and the chief executive. Continuity planning works best when it starts years before it is needed.

Evaluate the board and widen its composition

Board evaluation

Evaluation tells a board what to develop next. Oman's listed-company code provides for an appraisal of board performance by a third party appointed by the annual general meeting, and the closed joint stock company principles require a performance assessment at least once in each board term. A good evaluation looks at composition and skills, the quality of board papers and discussion, committee effectiveness and the chair's leadership. Its findings should feed directly into the next year's development plan.

Women on boards

In the UAE, the Securities and Commodities Authority has required at least one woman on the boards of public joint stock companies since 2021, and Ministerial Decision 137 of 2024 extended a similar requirement to private joint stock companies from 2025. Rules elsewhere in the region differ, so check the current requirements where the company is listed or registered. Whatever the regulation, a programme can build the pipeline: preparing senior women executives for board roles, sponsorship by sitting directors, and nomination processes that look beyond existing networks.

How to structure the programme

A sound programme runs as a cycle, not an event. A practical sequence:

• Assess: map current skills against the board's needs, using the latest evaluation and a skills matrix.
• Induct: give each new director a structured induction on the business, its risks, its governance documents and their own duties.
• Build: run focused sessions on strategy, finance, risk and committee work, using the company's own cases where possible.
• Practice: hold a board retreat or simulation in which directors work through a live strategic question.
• Review: repeat the evaluation, record progress and set the next year's priorities.

Sessions should be short, scheduled around the board calendar, and available in Arabic and English, since boards in the region often work in both languages.

The National Academy of Leadership & Innovation (NALI) in Muscat delivers this work through its board leadership track, which includes a board members development programme, board retreats and family-business continuity, alongside its women's leadership programmes and assessment center.