Cornerstone Blog

If you are an STM demolition and construction company, in a local market, should your marketing investment include Facebook and Twitter? 

If you think that is a mismatch, join the group. Yet, MGI Construction Company sees sales out there in Twitter’s 24 million followers. Or they don’t really and it’s just an example of what might be called social media sprawl – a vast, amorphous blob of robotic posts hopefully spinning around out there in anonymity.

Re-thinking business social media is long overdue. Most businesses have misunderstood it for years. There ARE brilliant ways to use marketing and sales promotion on the Internet but most firms don’t wait to find out. They see only numbers.  Managers who once used to commit huge budgets on the basis of a few thousand paid subscribers, take one look at Facebook’s 2.8 billion monthly users and say “We’ve got to be there.”

Actually, you don’t.

Business is a massive user of online – nearly 80% of all companies share content on social media.  Most of it is labelled B2C or business-to-consumer. Business-to-business (B2B) marketing is another story. How many Twitter followers want to buy a Caterpillar earth-mover?

Funding B2B marketing campaigns on most social media is described by a (male) friend of mine as being like peeing down your pant leg. All it gives you is a warm feeling. (The big exception is LinkedIn which we’ll come back to.)

Despite this inability to identify potential buyers of business products in consumer social media, firms have poured billions into the attempt.  Finally, the light has gone on. Marketers, who exist for conversions, realize they are competing in a quite foreign market that values community.

This week, a series of articles by MarketingProfs describes social media investment as a triumph of hope over hard evidence.

• In the real world, what keeps marketing alive is data. Last year, 67% of B2B managers admitted they can’t quantitatively measure their social media impact (although they are planning to spend more next year…..!)
• Another survey shows that social media engagement is a consequence, not a cause, of brand affinity. They followed you because they already liked you.
• In one survey of companies which claimed excellent customer service, only 8% of their customers agreed with that assessment.

So, as it becomes increasingly clear that much B2B marketing is wasted on most social media, where should that money be spent? The answer has been there all the time: Customer service.

Using social media in customer care instead of social media marketing turns the photo from negative to positive. It is about community, not conversion. You are valuing the consumer, not the product. You are aligned with the community experience, not the sale.

Does that not sound a lot more promising than this admission from an SM marketer at Arby’s:

It’s difficult to tie what we’re doing in social with hard metrics around sales or store visits … However, when we take a deeper look into the quantitative results and look at the sentiment and passion intensity of the comments [on our Instagram posts], we’re driving significant positive conversations around our brand.”

“Positive conversations”? Try this metric at the next executive marketing meeting and see how excited the boss gets.

So, the focus switch to the customer experience shows the B2B world a real way how to profit intelligently from the vastness of consumer social media. But what about the original marketing  challenge? Is there a door to social media that will show ways not just to pat your customers on the back, but actually get them to the top of your funnel?

Yes indeed. I said we’d get back to LinkedIn. But it will have to be next week.

Happy Trails.

A friend of mine who writes an excellent financial newsletter always signs off with a quote from Warren Buffet:

Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get”.

Tony Tiberius came to mind as I read a recent article published by HuntScanlon, a North American publisher in the executive search and leadership niche. The article reviews the best value in executive recruiting and right there – Myth #2 of four Myths – is the old price shibboleth: 

Executive search firms are pricey and provide low return on investment

It is there in every discussion on recruiting. And it is both erroneous and irrelevant because, as Mr. Buffet points out, price is a false metric.

First, a little background.

If you engage a firm to fill a position, you choose between two dominant systems in managerial or executive recruiting. (i.e. excluding low-level, job-board “classifieds”). They are known as Contingency Search and Retained Search

Contingency Search firms work on the TIATWASIIS approach (throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks). They select candidates based on a review of available profiles and they only get paid when you accept one. There can be many contingency firms “helping” you on the same mandate.  You do a lot of reading and assuming.

The work of the Retained Search firm is exclusive to you. They get involved. They ask a lot of questions. They want to know exactly what kind of person you think you want and exactly what kind of person they think is most likely to be above average in your environment.

They do the reading and research and assessing. You get a list that only contains the names of people meeting the criteria.

Now, getting back to Mr. Buffett.

The price paid to the contingency recruiter that wins the Resume Lottery is usually – but not always – the lesser of the two.  Not really surprising. A lot less work has been done on your behalf at a considerably lower skill level.

But the differential in value of the work accomplished is huge for these reasons

• The retained search firm has worked exclusively to meet your specific requirement
• That obligation has remained until you are satisfied you have the best person
• You have accessed a much wider talent pool. Your recruiter has not been limited to those looking for work; they know who might consider switching to join you.
• Your regular workload has been, as a rule, not that greatly affected.

The relative value between the two types of recruiting is greatly affected by the talent need.  The more critical the sought-after contribution, the greater the value of the search process undertaken.

Having to replace someone hired as a line manager in a medium-sized company is money and time wasted but will not summon an emergency meeting of the Board.

Finding undiscovered limitations in a C-level hire can go all the way to the bottom line. At a minimum estimated cost of 2.5 times comp, you soon hit a million plus and we haven’t mentioned reputational risk.

In other words, justifying the selection of either a contingency or retained search for a senior position solely on the basis of cost is, to put it politely, looking through the wrong end of the telescope, Less politely, it is dumb.  

By the way, here are all four of the recruiting myths:

Myth No. 1: Anyone can execute an executive search by using a job board.

Myth No. 2: Executive search firms are pricey and provide low return on investment.

Myth No. 3: Internal talent acquisition teams can produce the same caliber candidates as an executive search firm

Myth No. 4: A contingent search firm offers the same value as a retained search firm.

And here, one last time, is Warren Buffet.

“Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get”.

Game, Set. Match.

It’s known as Miles Law, and it’s attributed to Rufus Edward Miles, a Federal administrator who served as an assistant secretary under three U.S. presidents. It states: “where you stand depends on where you sit.”

The phrase acknowledges that where we stand in the perspectives that affect our opinions or decisions, comes from where we have been sitting in life. Our upbringing, education, network of friends and life experiences shape the bias of where we stand at any given moment in time.

We are all subject to bias in our opinions and preferences.  It may be wishful thinking to believe you do not.   What is much more to the point is to accept that you are susceptible to bias and know where you may be biased. This awareness allows you to discount it in an honest assessment of your options.  Here’s how:

Gaining Objectivity

Own your bias. Be honest with where you have been sitting and why you stand where you do. 

Examine your bias rationally. List other perspectives than your current conclusions. 

Expand your network to include people with whom you disagree. Then engage in reasoned but not emotional conversation. 

Evaluate your perspective. What are the reasons to continue or change your presumptions? 

Adjust your presumptions. Shift where you stand in spite of where you have been sitting. 

Identify the criteria that are essential to an objective decision. What are the important factors in the outcome of your decision? 

Weight the criteria. Each criterion does not have the same importance. Use a simple 1 to 5 scale. 

Measure each option in light of your weighted criteria. Score each option according to your numbers for each criterion. 

Make your best decision. What helps the most people and hurts the least people? 

Leadership Debrief

It’s okay to have bias. We all do. Just acknowledge that where you stand influences opinions, conclusions, and decisions.

According to Gallup, “Organizations that are the best in engaging their employees achieve earnings-per-share growth that is more than four times that of their competitors. Compared with business units in the bottom quartile, those in the top quartile of engagement realize substantially better customer engagement, higher productivity, better retention, fewer accidents, and 21% higher profitability. Engaged workers also report better health outcomes.”

Those were the findings of a Gallup poll in 2018.  The advantages of the “engaged worker” were known long before that but perhaps not as boldly quantified. Since then, the competitive benefits of engagement, diversity and inclusion have become the bedrock of leadership teaching and practice.

The AESC (Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants) recently interviewed John Amaechi, OBE, an organizational psychologist, author, Board Director, and thought leader on the relationship between diversity and inclusion and organizational competitiveness. Amaechi identifies a direct link between engagement and leadership. 

“The social and political upheaval, upended supply chains and accelerating digital disruption in 2020 have left many organizations rethinking what they need in their leaders,” Amaechi says. “Before the craziness ensued, leaders were decent resource managers. They were decent at giving one appraisal a year, but they weren’t motivational.

“Now we’re in a scenario where workers have been humanized. Workplaces have had to realize that their people are human beings with fear, anxiety, worry. Now they realize that whatever gulf there was between the need for brilliant leadership and the quality of it has now doubled, and inclusion is a part of that picture.”

Building Inclusive Leaders

If diversity and inclusion can be taught, is it also possible to identify inclusive leaders? Amaechi points to several qualities that can signal if leaders are likely to be inclusive.

Socialized leadership motivation: “This is the idea that you want power, but you want power in order to utilize it on behalf of your team, as opposed to an individualized or personalized power motivation where you want power, because power is good.”

Self-confidence versus bravado: “Inclusive leaders are self-confident, but at the same time realize that they have to have a confidence that is exhibited in a way that doesn’t turn people away or make them think they are absolutely invulnerable.”

Emotional stability: “Inclusive leaders are the kind of leaders who have a predictable response, who don’t fly off the handle one day and then come in and schmooze the next day; are stoic one day and the next day, they are bubbly. Inclusion requires that people have a predictability.”

Coming Out On Top

COVID-19 forced leaders to pivot and organizations to adapt, and the disruption isn’t over. Even before the pandemic, digital transformation and the pace of change required a fresh look at leadership. Amaechi notes that one of the jobs of search and leadership consulting is to help clients think about talent differently.

As Peter Drucker has stated: “the greatest danger in time of turbulence is not the turbulence.  It is acting with yesterday’s logic.”

As Amaechi sees it, the role of an executive search and development consultant — AESC members such as Cornerstone – is to help leaders realize that what makes you comfortable is not what will make you win.

“People talk about wanting to win,” Amaechi says, “but really what they mean is they want to not lose whilst being as comfortable as possible. And that’s not the same thing.

“Emotionally literate, intellectually curious leaders will prevail. Leaders who aren’t bound by tradition. Leaders who are willing to be personally inconvenienced for the benefit, for the ease of passage of those junior to them will prevail. Leaders who act as heat shields for disruption and then take much of the pain rather than distribute it through, that leader is going to prevail.”

We are still in the midst of challenging times, and Amaechi cautions, “Organizations that are poorly led by homogenous groups of people, whether they be homogenous demographically, or just homogenous thinkers, will fail. And as a society, we can’t afford that. So, hiring diverse people, making sure that leaders with diverse skills find that opportunity and flourish is for the benefit of us all.”

For more insight into the challenges of leadership today, read more AESC articles here

(Ed Note: This article first appeared in Forbes, for whom George is a regular contributor. He is also an alumnus of Coca Cola where he formed a deep respect for CEO Neville Isdell and his leadership ability. George looks back on those qualities here)

If decisions have to go through you, you’re the choke point at the bottom of the funnel, controlling the flow. 

Conversely, if you provide clear direction, resources, bounded authority, and accountability, enabling others to make decisions, you turn the funnel into a megaphone, amplifying your influence and impact. It’s one of the fundamental differences between early-stage entrepreneurs and successful leaders of larger, more complex enterprises.

Coca-Cola’s Neville Isdell was a decision-enabler. As described in The Keys To Level Four Delegation, Neville led by giving people:

1. Direction as to the desired objectives and results so everyone understood his intent.
2. Resources – The human, financial, technical, and operational resources they needed to succeed.
3. Bounded Authority to make tactical decisions within the strategic boundaries and guidelines all had agreed to.
4. Accountability – Standards of performance, time expectations, positive and negative consequences of success and failure for those held to account.

It’s counter-intuitive, but clear direction, boundaries and guidelines free people up to act. Knowing what you can’t do lets you spend more time thinking about what you can do.

Coca-Cola’s people knew they couldn’t mess with the core pillars of Coca-Cola. No-one tried to change the secret formula. (Except once with New Coke. But that’s a different story.) Global package changes were big deals. But people had tremendous flexibility with local advertising, promotions, and execution, enabling the tactical capacity to adjust quickly and decisively.

Isdell deliberately spent more time enabling others’ decisions than in making decisions himself.

Steps You Can Take

Direction

Start by aligning people, plans, and practices around a shared purpose. Your shared purpose is a combination of your mission (why,) vision (what,) and values and guiding principles (how.) One of the most important guiding principles goes to the core nature of the enterprise: design, produce, deliver, or service.

Core Framework

Your overarching strategy and strategic priorities flow from this, directing each group within the organization to:

• win by being predominant, superior, or strong,
• not lose by being above average, or good enough/scaled, or
• not do or out-source.

This gives them a clear picture of their desired objectives, results, and interdependencies with other groups so everyone understands your intent.

Resources

Strategic and priority choices are theoretically elegant and practically useless until they have resources behind them. Make human, financial, technical and operational resource choices in line with each group’s priority:

• Predominance requires top 1% resources to be the ones shaping the future.
• Superiority requires top 10% resources to be better than anyone else.
• Strong requires top 25% resources to be better than most.
• Above Average requires competitive resources to be generally competitive.
• Good Enough/Scaled is where you save money to fund higher-priority areas, looking only for the minimally viable approach and ways to scale efficiently.
• Not Do or Outsourced may or may not save you cash immediately, but it keeps these areas from distracting leadership.

Bounded Authority

This was where Isdell excelled. When his people made tactical decisions within the agreed strategic boundaries, he was always supportive. They knew they had the authority to make those decisions. Anytime anyone needed to re-look at a strategic boundary, they knew they had to engage with Isdell – who was always open to people influencing decisions he had the authority to make.

Accountability and Consequences

Pick your cliché. “If it doesn’t get measured, it doesn’t get done.” “You get what you inspect.” You’ve probably got your own favorite. The point is you have to measure, track, and assess results so you can adjust.

Set clear standards of performance, time expectations with milestones along the way, and positive and negative consequences of success and failure for the people being called to account. And then follow through.

Planning Process

1. Confirm the shared purpose: mission, vision, values and guiding principles including the nature of the enterprise.
2. Make clear strategic and priority choices in line with that.
3. Deploy resources in line with those strategic priority choices.
4. Clarify the tactical decisions leaders can make on their own and which they need others to endorse.
5. Require those leaders to share and implement rigorous plans to deliver their priorities so all know what’s getting done by when, by whom, with what resources and what interdependencies.
6. In general, track, assess, and modify your overall strategic, organizational and operational processes annually, overall business results quarterly, programs monthly, projects weekly, tasks daily or more frequently in a crisis.

Many companies fail to pay adequate attention to their leadership pipelines and succession planning.

Earlier this month, a study published in the Harvard Business Review came to an astonishing conclusion: the market value wiped out by badly managed CEO and C-suite transitions in the S&P 1500 alone is close to $1 trillion a year.

It is not just large companies at fault.  In the same study, an alarming 69% of private companies in the Middle East did not have a CEO succession contingency plan in place. In the research it was estimated that better succession planning could help market valuations and investor returns to be 20% to 25% higher.

Developing a comprehensive succession planning process for critical roles is key to strengthening your organization’s business continuity.

The authors of the HBR study concluded that an excessive tendency by large companies to hire leaders from outside is one of the biggest problems with succession practices.

This incurs three major kinds of costs: underperformance at companies that hire ill-suited external CEOs, the loss of intellectual capital in the C-suites of the organizations that executives leave behind, and for those companies promoting from within, the lower performance of ill-prepared successors.

The benefit of a succession plan is that your organization will not be caught off guard, even if a top leader leaves to join a competitor or faces personal or health issues or even retires. 

We have observed three key success factors for a vigorous Succession Planning Process

• Effective identification of high potential talents internally for every critical leadership role.
• Robust development and coaching program into preparing those talents to assume the relevant senior role.
• Assessment of those finalist talents at the end of a succession planning program on how they stack up against external top talent.

A Planning Template

Here is how to design an effective Succession Planning Process

1. Design – Decide which roles are critical in designing a succession planning process.
2. Redefine – Interview top leadership and redefine critical role requirements (decide key skills, competencies & traits for each critical role).
3. Identify – Identify High Potential (HiPo) talent internally for each critical role.
4. Develop – Develop technical & behavioral capabilities for the finalist HiPo talents over a pre-agreed time period (period length according to seniority of positions). 
5. Assess – Formal Assessment of the finalists of each critical role following their nurturing period, against job requirements.
6. Compare – Compare the finalists of each role with external top talent.
7. Analyse – Analyse data collected and synthesize final recommendations.
8. Recommend – Recommend final candidate for the critical role to responsible committee.

To discuss how this topic could impact your business, visit Cornerstone International Group (Middle East) or contact the author directly at stelios-pigadiotis@cornerstone-group.com 

Attracting and retaining top performing executives is the true lifeblood of successful organizations, yet identifying and attracting them can be a challenging endeavor.

Top performers, in leadership roles, will deliver about 50% more than the average and will improve their organization’s competitive position. Yet, according to McKinsey, 82% of Fortune 500 executives don’t believe that their companies recruit highly talented people.

There are many reasons organizations do not target A-Level talent: lack of resources, concern about internal pay inequities, lack of managerial confidence, chemistry/fit, etc.  However, organizations of all types, must strive to both attract and retain talent that will improve their competitive position. 

Specifically, organizations must develop and embrace a strategy that supports the hiring of talented executives.  They must live the concept that a rising tide floats all boats…that to win in the market they must accept new ideas, concepts, and recruit and retain top talent.

So how do you find and recruit “A” Talent? 

Speaking from experience as a member of a global executive search group, identifying “A” talent is best accomplished using a disciplined process that must include four tangible measurements.

When incorporated into the executive search process, the following will facilitate an organization’s ability to identify and attract best-in-market talent:

1. Determine Current Organizational Position/Potential

Often, the assumption is made that because candidates have worked for top performing competitors (or academy companies such as GE or P&G), that they are automatically a top talent.

With the cost of a mis-hire being more than 4x annual cash compensation, this can be a costly assumption. Once you have identified potential candidates, but before you contact them, recruiters should speak with knowledgeable sources such as alumni of their company and competitors.

These pre-references will ensure a consistently higher level of candidate quality and help determine fit to the new organization.

2. Ensure a Progressive Career Track

Ensure that the candidate has had progressively more responsibility throughout their career.  Has he/she made the appropriate decisions including agreeing to take on risky and more autonomous roles within their current or prior organizations?   Has he/she stayed in roles long enough to deliver consistent and high-level results?

Have job/company changes been made to further the career in terms of scope and responsibility, or just for more money? Is the candidate a job hopper, never staying with the same company for more than 2-3 years? 

3. Assume that Compensation and Talent are Linked

Compensation levels often reflect the quality of the candidate. This is a basic and irrefutable law of our open market economy. Top talent commands top dollar, and quality candidates are typically compensated at a higher level than their peers.

While there are obvious exceptions, this is true over 80% of the time. For example, a General Manager making $200,000 is more than likely a stronger candidate than a comparably experienced one making $125,000.

Keep in mind that “A” players are well compensated and their respective organizations will fight hard to keep them with rich, comprehensive, and long-term packages. It will typically require a premium to pry them away.

4. Senior Level References

After the initial references mentioned above, subsequent references must be conducted with senior line management highly familiar with the candidate. Most senior level executives will readily agree to be a reference for an “A” talent executive. Because of their rank and experience, they are the most candid and useful references.  

In closing, identifying, attracting, and retaining “A” talent is not an easy task, yet is paramount to the success of almost any organization.  While using these measurements will result in improved talent levels, they are not the only components of an overall recruitment plan.

For ultimate success in the market, management must commit to identify and hire individuals who will challenge them to take the business to the next level. 

Organizations must commit to a strategy of hiring the best person for the job, not the best person looking for a job.

About the Author:

Walter is a Managing Director with Cornerstone International Group, a leading Global Executive Search Firm.  He is a former member of the Americas Council of the AESC. Based in Atlanta and Washington, DC, Walter has over 25 years of retained search experience. He can be reached at walter-baker@cornerstone-group.com

Is your career suffering from being too busy?

There is a lot to say about being busy. Some good, some bad. But the important thing is to recognize a difference between being busy and being effective.

Being busy is not contributing. Sometimes too much activity results in lower performance and not accomplishing your goals.  

The last year has been full of change. None more so than the workday most of us keep.  Working from home has become the norm; most of us will soon have a scenario that will include some mix of working from home and working from the office. Change once again.

There is a lot to do. In fact, I know people who are working regular 12 hour days just to keep up. 

That’s a formula for failure! 

I’m not talking about time management.  I’m talking about about prioritizing. Knowing what is important, and making certain you accomplish it. Positioning yourself to thrive going forward. Making certain you are not too busy to be successful.

Too often we get caught up in things that have to be done. There are always things that have to be done — that’s our job. And it gets busier every day. If some people rely on you today, more people will eventually do so tomorrow.

You get busier as you help more people. That’s where the issue lies. You take care of things; you help others; you make certain everything is done right. You are busy doing. You don’t say no.   

At the end of the day (or week or month) you realize that you have ignored things that fit into the category of “the future”. This could include allocating time at work to plan, to understand  the challenges and develop a way to overcome them. It could also be something personal – learning, developing, serving, or even relaxing.

Whatever it is, it did not get done because your schedule did not have time. In special situations that may be ok, but in the long term, both you, those that count on you, and your organization, suffer.

Each of us has a limited supply of time. We also have the power to determine how to invest it. Those who don’t take this seriously give up potential, and maybe aspects of their future, by only addressing immediate demands. That’s an expensive trade off, and leads to stress, dissatisfaction and disappointment.

Know what is important by prioritizing, for today and the future, then make it happen by allocating time in your schedule.

In a recent article, Inc.com shared “the 80% energy rule”, based on the Confucian teaching hara hachi bu, which is often translated as “eat until you are 80% full”.  Use 80% of your energy each day, leaving time and energy for whatever else comes up.

Don’t max yourself out in all aspects of your life – and career. Have some reserves. The challenge going forward is not returning to normal, but rebuilding for greater resilience. Don’t be busy, be successful. 

These suggestions will help focus on things that you consider important:

1. Set aside one hour each week for “planning.”  That’s your hour. Use the time to consider the longer term – not to solve immediate issues. Focus on what you choose – business, personal or a combination. That time is yours.  
2. Write down what you want to accomplish (a study from the Dominican University in California found that people who wrote down their goals were 42% more likely to achieve them. If you share them with someone else, that percentage goes up dramatically. That’s where coaches can help.)  
3. Set a “time to accomplish by” date for each.
4. Celebrate each success.

These are simple steps which take discipline. They take focus. They take commitment. And they take prioritizing.  It’s your time. Protect it jealously. Use it wisely!

You are an executive search professional.  Your job is to find exceptional people who can lead an organization out of one of the most disruptive periods in recent history and into a new period of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity – and opportunity.

What exactly are you looking for? Learning agility ?  Innovation? Confidence?

“Resilience,” says Alejandra Aranda. “Companies are experiencing a scenario of forced transformation. Change was underway, but the pandemic has trashed timelines.  Until we catch up, the key strategic concept is resilience.

“You do not want to get stuck in the business model that made you successful.”

Aranda is Co-Founder and  Chairman of Humanitas, Cornerstone’s member firm in Santiago, Chile. She is currently heading up a search for new Directors of the Penson Fund Administration in Chile, a global leader of social security in pensions.

To transform the business model requires a Board of Directors and an administration that speaks that language. It‘s complex. We have to generate leadership capacities in the different layers that foster the relationship between the Board of Directors and the company’s management.”

In a recent interview with the Chilean daily La Tercera, Aranda addressed the necessary characteristics identified by the Pension Fund Administrators for the Directors being sought.

 “First, we are looking for adaptability and flexibility, the ability to think differently and quickly. Leaders must grasp the need to reinvent themselves, assess and diagnose the risks,”she explained.

“In this particular case, we must also look for awareness of the social role of the company.  We need an understanding of the impact that decision-making within the Board of Directors will have on the well-being of the people and the development of the country”.

Go here to read the full interview in English

So, you want to become a Board member? Here’s the bottom line.

If you do it well, being a Board member will be more work than you anticipated;  more responsibility than you may have understood; a bit more frustrating than you expected; and a rewarding joy and a privilege.

Board service is a real job — a serious commitment.  Your passion for the organization must be greater than just wanting the title of Board member. Passion is the #1 ingredient when organizations are inviting people to know and do more for the enterprise.

Know exactly what you are coming for. Don’t join a Board because you want to feel powerful. You can be powerful somewhere else. This the wrong place. 

Many organizations look to expand and diversify their Boards in order to bring in more and different perspectives to support their businesses.   This creates opportunities for  some people who may not have been thought eligible for such a seat.

A job title is often an entry point to being considered as a Board member.  But it is – and should be – more a matter of the qualities and experiences you bring to the table. This should include a mental transition to awareness of your responsibilities, rather than to your new seniority.

If you have decided that participation on a Board is for you, here are some starting points

• Work your network. This is how you will learn about Board opportunities and how companies will learn about you. Build your personal brand as someone who will provide real value and expertise to a company through Board membership.
• Demonstrate financial intelligence. One of the most effective ways to assert leadership is to accept responsibility for P&L or to learn how one group’s costs and revenue relate to the rest of the organization. It’s also important to understand business in general outside your own organization.
• Develop intercultural intelligence. This is more important than ever to the overall health of an organization. It means no group should be a silo. Make sure that you’re participating in initiatives across your company, your industry or even your ecosystem, to stay looped in on current trends. See my article on Intercultural Intelligence.
• Use social intelligence. Talk to people! Talk to people throughout your organization, your ecosystem, but especially those who already serve on the Board. It is about learning from others.

Think about what kind of Board member you would be. There are a few different archetypes of Board member styles.  You are likely to come up against at least one or more of the following types. 

The Enforcer: This person is the stickler for the rules, making sure the organization is complying with rules and regulations while trying to build strategy and increase revenue.

The Data Wrangler: there’s usually at least one of these on any given Board, and in today’s data-driven workplace, this person fulfills an essential role. Focusing on KPIs, metrics, performance, and predictive analytics can help guide organizational strategy.

The Legacy Builder: this Board member focuses on the long term, how organizational decisions and strategy lay the groundwork for the company’s future, beyond current concerns. This requires balancing immediate operational and market needs with investing in the future.

The Big Picture Assembler: this is the person who sees what information, data, and feedback are coming in from different parts of the organization, and then looks at it holistically to see how the company is doing in the grander ecosystem or sector.

The Diplomat: this is the person who tries to balance the voices and needs of all the different members, making sure that each team or representative gets heard.

There are others. If you are on more than one Board, chances are you’ll meet them all

NEXT STEPS

Target your favorite companies and think above all about how you can help them; your focus is on their need, not yours. Build your ecosystem credibility. If you have it, your voice will be even more powerful from Day 1.

Don’t forget that your authenticity is always checked.  If you want to be up front and say what you hope to get out of the experience, go ahead. But make sure you are being honest.

And then, take risks.  Train yourself, don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  Ask sharp questions, and openly debate new ideas. Don’t shy away from uncomfortable discussions.  Be humble and grateful for support and never apologize for who you are. 

Have passion, open doors.  And become the Board member they were hoping for!