The ousting of Albert Manifold as BP's chairman in May 2026 - after less than eight months in post - has been widely reported as a story about one man's conduct. It is not. BP's leadership churn is not an anomaly, but a pattern. And patterns are governance problems, not bad luck. In this post, we seek to understand the broader governance challenges at BP, pose a series of questions, and make recommendations to enhance the collective leadership culture and avoid future success

What are the common failure points in the Chair-CEO relationship? What does management independence really mean? What does good look like? Six disciplines of a strong Chair-CEO relationship. What are the three roles of an effective Board Chair? What are the key responsibilities of the CEO with respect to the Board?

This post takes you on a tour of Blackheath's 10-point Board Effectiveness Framework with important questions that every board should address.