Managing Difficult Directors
Practical advice for executives and fellow board members. by Marianna Zangrillo, Thomas Keil and Stevo Pavićević

Elke Vogelsang
Summary.
It happens in every boardroom. Hours into a marathon meeting, the conversation on the critical strategy topics has not yet started, and that one director won’t stop circling around a minor issue no one else finds relevant. As discussions continue, the same director pushes back on every idea. Momentum stalls, focus blurs, energy dissipates, and frustration mounts. Good governance becomes harder than it needs to be.
Read more on Boards or related topics Corporate governance, Leadership and managing people and Meeting management
A version of this article appeared in the May–June 2026 issue of Harvard Business Review.
Read more on Boards or related topics Corporate governance, Leadership and managing people and Meeting management