When are you ready to be on a board?

Photo by Benjamin Child on Unsplash

Years ago, an emergency all hands meeting was called by my then employer. The firm’s star employee, a gentleman with a tremendous reputation, not to mention an uncanny ability to generate revenues, had decided to leave the firm.

The CEO of the business announced the departure to the quiet room. A few gasps and gulps as the room digested the news. The CEO asked for questions, so I cautiously raised my hand and asked “what did the company’s board think of the departure?”

The CEO paused and then said that he hadn’t informed the board yet, nor did he know their point of view…

Maybe you want to serve on a board?

There are a lot of motivations for doing so - a chance to support a favorite cause (for non-profits), a chance to share your expertise, a chance to grow, potential compensation, prestige, etc.

It all sounds good and noble. But sometimes board’s have hard business - having to make decisions to terminate underperforming leaders, navigate crises, and more. Sometimes boards are functionally impotent, as in the case above.

For the month of March, we are going to look at boards and governance. Whether you are actively looking for a board role or like a stray cat, one finds you, odds are high that at some point, board service will be on offer.

I have been serving in governance roles for 20+ years - 9 non-profits, multiple industry organizations, and 4 corporate boards. I’d like to share a few things i’ve learned over that time.

You may have your ‘why’ for serving on a board. Today, I want to consider when. When are you ready to serve? When do you have the right mix of skills, wisdom, and enthusiasm to be impactful as a board member.

It’s a matter of perspective

First, the best time to join a board concerns your perspective as a leader. Careers follow a common ladder of perspective. Early on, your job is to manage yourself to achieve functional excellence. You were hired to do a thing, your job is to get quite good at it.

After that, you may be promoted to the Manager/Director level - depending on the corporate hierarchy. Managers are able to capably oversee doers of a function. The Managers perspective gets a bit broader, but is still highly focused on a single functional area.

Manager/directors typically then become vice-presidents. VPs are executives who know how to run something. They can consider multiple competing priorities and weigh their implications across functional groups. They may also have some degree of strategic input into the shape of what they are doing - aka bringing in an outside perspective regarding the competitive environment.

As VPs grow into “Chiefs” - CFO, COO, and CEOs - their perspective gets more and more broad. It begins to include regulatory concerns, priorities of shareholders regarding returns, etc.

This progression matters because at the Board level, your the perspective shifts even further. Board members sit at the nexus of the organization, the competitive environment, the regulatory climate.

But unlike VP and “chiefs”, board members do not have operating responsibility. I have seen time and again that some board members have a very hard time turning off the ‘operator’ skill set. It’s an honest mistake - the remainder of their careers they have been in the business of getting things done.

But the work of a Board member is different - it certainly involves goal setting and accountability - but is does not include the ‘how’ of getting things done - even if the how is compelling.

Many board members get caught discussing the how and can’t escape the trap. That’s not their job - it’s the job of management to determine the how.

A good board member is in the ‘so what’ business. What are the implications of the choices being made and how does that align with the longer-term goals of the business?

You might be ready to serve on a board when you are ready and capable of making this shift in perspective.

Building a strong network

The next critical determinate of ‘when” is the strength of your professional network. Board members bring more than just expertise - they bring relationships. These relationships might be with vendors, suppliers, customers, any of the key constituencies of the organization.

You may be ready for board service when you have a network that is of some actual value. A portion of your day should be spent getting to know others.

The more you can get to know others and be helpful to them, the more valuable you will be in the marketplace. Sometimes a business or organization needs a fast way to make a new contact - board members can be invaluable in that process.

Managing your calendar

The final ‘when’ is ‘when in your calendar’ will this fit. There is a rule of thumb to budget ~100 hours of time for each board. In my experience, the time commitment can be quite variable.

Regardless of the absolute amount, you should have enough space in your calendar for the meetings to fit. If you cannot attend, especially the in-person ones, you are missing out on a large portion of the relationship building that makes board work enjoyable.

Next week - we will consider where board service might be a fit….