Just before all public events were cancelled earlier this year I
was invited by the Women on Boards Network to run a session on building
one’s brand as a board member. It was, as I expected it would be, a
lively evening with over 50 bright, engaged women in the room.
How
fortunate we are in Kenya to have many women who are already competent
directors, plus many more board-ready members of that gender. And how
fortunate we are to have an organisation dedicated to developing women
to become high-contribution board members and to link them up with
organisations seeking such people.
My theme for the
evening was about making a contribution, about adding value as a board
member. And of course just about everything I shared would have been
just the same had I been with a group of men.
The
process must start by understanding oneself and appreciating what it is
that one is offering. Yet too few of us have indulged in the kind of
self-exploration that this requires, and here I quoted Benjamin
Franklin, who found that “there are three things extremely hard: steel, a
diamond and knowing oneself”.
But it is very doable,
and I advised the good ladies to start by listing their achievements and
the strengths that explain them, without bragging and without undue
humility. That establishes (or rather should establish) a base for
self-esteem and hence confidence and boldness.
Then, as they look back over how their lives have evolved, to
identify their areas of competence, ones that are needed in the board
room. Are they a financial guru, a legal eagle? A strategy wonk, a
digital wizard? Is their field marketing, or talent management? Are they
change champions? Which sectors do they know inside out? Is their hot
spot compliance or sustainability? Have they been through challenging
mergers or acquisitions? How will they add value in the post-Covid
world?
More questions, now more to do with values,
attitudes and behaviour. Are they trustworthy and reliable? Emotionally
intelligent? Skilled communicators? Thought leaders? Disruptive
innovators? Mediators and consensus-builders? Networkers? What is their
risk appetite? Are they short-term problem solvers, long-term
sustainability builders? And before all that, will they make the
necessary time?
I also introduced the Women on Boards
group to personality assessments they would benefit from undertaking,
helping them to reveal more about their preferences. What role in a
board team would they naturally gravitate towards?
In
the language of Meredith Belbin, what “team type” are they? A “People
person”, who revels in coordinating; being a team worker; or a resource
person? An “Action person”, who is a task-focused pushy character; an
implementer; or a perfectionist-completer? Or a “Thought person”, who is
a creative; a specialist; or someone whose natural home is monitoring
and evaluation? Then, are they more of an extrovert or an introvert?
Guarded or open? So many questions to help a person position and further
build their brand.
I also helped the group I was with
to examine their suitability for being the chairperson of a board. Are
they the type who can bring people together around common visions and
values; run lively and useful meetings to which participants look
forward; build relationships with colleagues, management and other
stakeholders… and so earn the respect of all concerned?
Good
governance requires boards to list the personalities, skills and
exposure mix that’s needed for them to fulfill their role holistically
as a team. So those seeking directors’ positions must be aware of the
gaps that any board wishes to fill and match these with what they are
offering.
That’s what Women on Boards Kenya helps with,
and so if you are a woman who believes you are ready to sit around one
of those board room tables I encourage you to reach out to them.
The
last slide from my presentation to the ladies came from a disturbing
study which revealed that there are more men named John running big
companies in America than all women. More named David too. But at least
there are more women than men named Robert or James.
Good luck, ladies, the women on boards cup isn’t yet full, but here in Kenya it is filling reasonably well.
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