????在一個(gè)理想世界中，稱(chēng)王當(dāng)?shù)郛?dāng)然是樁美事。但在公司擁有無(wú)上權(quán)力的董事長(zhǎng)兼CEO往往并不是最高效的領(lǐng)袖，這一點(diǎn)也早已不是什么新聞了。咨詢(xún)師兼作家吉姆?考林斯很久以前就闡明過(guò)這一點(diǎn)。

????但在最近兩三年，董事會(huì)對(duì)于CEO應(yīng)當(dāng)擁有多大掌控權(quán)，業(yè)界的想法已經(jīng)有了很大的轉(zhuǎn)變。在設(shè)立獨(dú)立董事長(zhǎng)的問(wèn)題上，傳統(tǒng)觀點(diǎn)是“不能一刀切”。換言之，這可能對(duì)有些公司適用，但不適合所有的公司。有些董事會(huì)成員的確也是這么認(rèn)為的，但其他董事可能只能向現(xiàn)實(shí)妥協(xié)：作為董事，他們覺(jué)得自己沒(méi)有力量貫徹這個(gè)理念。

????但現(xiàn)在，與我對(duì)話的大部分董事都不認(rèn)可分立CEO和董事長(zhǎng)職務(wù)。他們積極支持沒(méi)有作出這種安排的董事。

????迪斯尼（Disney）股東錯(cuò)過(guò)了將CEO和董事長(zhǎng)職位分離的機(jī)會(huì)（這項(xiàng)提案獲得了36%的投票），而身為摩根大通（J.P. Morgan）CEO的杰米?戴蒙正在奮力保衛(wèi)自己的董事長(zhǎng)頭銜。沃倫?巴菲特也支持這么做——在這一點(diǎn)上，他錯(cuò)了。

????當(dāng)前的問(wèn)題不是公司是否應(yīng)當(dāng)設(shè)立獨(dú)立董事長(zhǎng)，而是要找到合適的獨(dú)立董事長(zhǎng)人選。從公司管理中獨(dú)立出來(lái)，不僅僅是分離，才是當(dāng)今越來(lái)越多股東和董事們的訴求。雷?拉尼在惠普（HP）并不是真正意義上的獨(dú)立董事長(zhǎng)，Occidental的雷?伊拉尼也不是。拉尼今年失去了董事長(zhǎng)的職位。伊拉尼最近也失去了董事席位和董事長(zhǎng)職位。

????董事長(zhǎng)更替對(duì)于弱勢(shì)的董事會(huì)而言更替是一個(gè)非同小可的問(wèn)題。惠普今年不得不設(shè)立了臨時(shí)董事長(zhǎng)，目前估計(jì)正在尋找一位新的董事來(lái)填補(bǔ)這些職位。

????如果摩根大通的股東投票決定分拆董事長(zhǎng)和CEO職位，它也將面臨同樣的困境。作為CEO，他像埃克森美孚（ExxonMobil）的李?雷蒙德一樣強(qiáng)勢(shì)，但他擔(dān)任摩根大通董事長(zhǎng)所表現(xiàn)出來(lái)的軟弱成了這個(gè)效率低下的董事會(huì)身上的一個(gè)嚴(yán)重不足。

????像惠普一樣，這家大銀行也該引入新董事了。或許，他們應(yīng)當(dāng)考慮前美國(guó)商品期貨交易委員會(huì)（CFTC）負(fù)責(zé)人布魯克斯理?伯恩、前美國(guó)貿(mào)易代表布拉德?米勒或前美國(guó)銀行業(yè)監(jiān)管官員比爾?布萊克。所有這3個(gè)人都諳熟銀行業(yè)、監(jiān)督和監(jiān)管，有望給投資者帶來(lái)信心。

????如何管好董事長(zhǎng)更替這件事對(duì)于很多董事會(huì)來(lái)說(shuō)還是個(gè)新領(lǐng)域。但這是一個(gè)受歡迎的轉(zhuǎn)變。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????埃里諾?布洛克斯哈姆是董事會(huì)咨詢(xún)公司價(jià)值聯(lián)盟與公司治理聯(lián)盟(http://thevaluealliance.com/)的首席執(zhí)行官。

????In an ideal world, it would be great to be king. But it's no news flash that imperial chairman-CEOs are not the most effective leaders. Consultant and author Jim Collinsdemonstrated that long ago.

????But in the last couple of years, the shift in board thinking on how much control a CEO should have has been remarkable. Regarding the issue of having an independent chair, the old rhetoric was "one size doesn't fit all." It may work for some companies, but not all, the thinking went. Some board members really believed the line, but for others, it was resignation to the fact that, as board members, they didn't believe they had the muscle to push the idea through.

????Today, the majority of board members I speak with, however, don't just embrace the idea of having a board chair that's independent of the top manager. They actively sympathize with directors who don't have that arrangement.

????Disney (DIS) shareholders missed out on splitting the CEO and chair roles (the proposal won36% of the vote), and Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan (JPM), is fighting to keep his chairmanship. Warren Buffett supports this -- and, on this, he is wrong.

????At this point, it's not a question of whether companies should have an independent chair but of identifying the right person for the chair role. Independence from management -- not just separation -- is what more and more shareholders and board members are looking for today. Ray Lane was not a truly independent chair at HP, nor was Ray Irani at Occidental. Lane lost his chairmanship this year. Irani recently lost his board seat and chair position.

????And chair succession is a serious problem for weak boards. HP had to install an interim chair this year and is presumably looking for a new board member who can fill those boots.

????If at J.P. Morgan shareholders vote to split the chair and CEO roles, the company will face the same dilemma. As strong a CEO as Lee Raymond was at ExxonMobil (XOM), his weakness as presiding director at J.P. Morgan has been a black mark for the bank's ineffective board.

????As with HP (HPQ), it's time for new board members at the megabank. Maybe they shouldconsider former CFTC head Brooksley Born, former U.S. representative Brad Miller, or former bank regulator Bill Black. All three know a thing or two about banks, oversight, and regulation and would instill confidence in investors.

??? Managing chair succession is new territory for many boards. But it's a welcome change.

????Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (http://thevaluealliance.com/), a board advisory firm.