A credible candidacy begins with the decisions you could help a board make and the risks you could help it oversee. However, not every body described as a board has the same authority: listed company boards, family councils, non-profit boards and advisory committees may have different powers, appointment rules and legal duties. Understanding those differences will help you choose suitable opportunities and assess the responsibilities involved before seeking appointment.
Where to start
- Identify and record the decisions and risks on which your experience could strengthen a board's judgement. State your contribution in one sentence and test it with someone who understands board appointments.
- Select two board types that fit your experience, then establish what authority each exercises under the applicable law and governing documents.
- Compile an initial shortlist of eight organisations, noting the contribution you could make, who appoints their boards and any existing relationship you hold. Review the shortlist as your search develops.
Ask yourself
- Does my statement explain how I would contribute to board decisions, rather than the work I would carry out as an executive?
- Can I distinguish a statutory directorship from an advisory or informal role, including the different duties each may carry?
- Could someone who knows my work explain my contribution to a chair or appointing body?
What you keep A one-sentence statement of board contribution and an initial shortlist of suitable organisations.
In practice A chair or nomination committee needs to understand how a candidate could contribute to the decisions facing a particular board, so a clear statement should explain how your experience and independence would complement the skills already represented among its directors.