To board or not to board — How to be a change agent through board service

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You can argue that in today’s world where everyone is overworked, overextended and pretty much burnt out, getting another thing on the list is not a smart move and frankly a recipe for disaster. In this post-pandemic, recession-prone and cost cutting era, we’re all spending more time in front of a screen, in an office (whether it’s home or not), at a desk and we’re getting more stressed and demotivated.

So, why consider board service?

I would say that there are three major reasons why this is a compelling choice for all-

1. Networking — this can sound shallow, but whether you’re volunteering in your children’s school board, at your favorite non-profit or for a private or public board, you’ll come across and partner with many professionals from various industries, disciplines and backgrounds. Through your fellow board members, you continue to hone in your skills and add to your experience, you’re observing other leadership styles, leaning new perspectives and ultimately you’re expanding your professional network. People know your brand, what you stand for, what you’re good at and they’re more likely to share this with their peers that can help you professionally and also possibly with your next board service opportunity. This is especially important as many of us still working remotely and networking/socializing is quite difficult. Working with others towards a common goal provides a great platform to further develop your network and continue your professional career.
2. Giving back — this is quite obvious: it feels good to volunteer for the causes you feel passionate about. And there’s a clear benefit for the non-profit or the receiving organization as well because they need seasoned professionals with leadership and management experience but also a strong board that can help them carry their fiduciary responsibility towards the donors and/or supporters.
3. Looking at the big picture — This in my opinion is the most valuable component that can help you in your day-to-day job and also personal life. We’re always tend to focus on solving gnarly problems, focusing on a targeted approach, finding solutions and taking action whether it’s a day at work or a weekend with the family. When you serve at a board you become the consultant, the advisor, the one that steps back and questions decisions. It feels refreshing to be able to focus on the strategy, be able to ask the right questions and also learn when to let go. Even if you’re voting on specific topics, there are other teams focusing on managing and your role is questioning and being a sounding board (no pun intended — LOL)

Women on Boards — Why Diversity Matters

Also, the same way diverse management teams make better decisions, are more customer-focused and yield stronger results, a diverse board is increasingly becoming a requirement and best practice across privately held, publicly traded companies and non-profits. Actually, board diversity is linked to 15–17% increase in revenue as diverse leadership is linked with 9% higher EBIT margins.

As Rick Hoel mentions, Building diversity on a board of directors isn’t easy, but it’s vitally important. Diversity brings in new thinking, insights and perspective about consumers, markets and business practices. A lack of diversity represents a missed opportunity. Boards that are too culturally homogenous can wind up with blind spots and miss important cues about market trends or internal problems. That’s why a highly accomplished and diverse board ‘ and that means including more women, more people of color and more people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds ‘ is so critical, particularly today, when businesses compete on a global scale.

So, if you want to be the sounding board to the CEO, if you can recognize patterns, represent the voice of the customer and question with the aim to optimize, augment and grow organizations, board service can be a great option for you. You can start small through supporting non-profits, then possibly move into a private board and then graduate to public boards that can influence the direction of F500 companies.

Board service provides a great way to network with other professionals, give back to causes you care about and can make a difference and it provides you with the ability to be more strategic and exercise this muscle.

I guarantee that if you select your boards carefully following your passion and interests and put in the time, you’ll be a better professional and perhaps even a better person.

Photo by Nastuh Abootalebi on Unsplash