You're on a board - now what?
There has been much written on the critical need for Boards of Directors to add diversity of thought and background into their mix. Joining a board is often viewed as “the brass ring” for accomplished women leaders. But once you join one, what are some strategies for making sure your board colleagues recognize that they made the right choice?
Here are a few tips that I often suggest to my clients:
Get your voice in the room – make sure the other board members know that you bring unique value to the group.
Communicate with clarity and gravitas – frame your points so that your board colleagues can easily follow what you have to say.
Have the courage to provide a dissenting view
Employ a strategy for supporting other board members and getting their support in return.
Ask smart, probing questions that lead your colleagues to rethink an existing view. A simple request for someone to elaborate on a topic can draw out new perspectives about it.
In an article in Forbes, Momentum Builds For More Women On Boards, McElhaney at Berkeley shared a study she conducted. “We looked for correlations between board gender composition and positive ESG performance. We found that companies with one or more women on their boards were likelier to have much better ESG practices.”
And she continued: “The boards with at least three female members had better ESG performance than those with fewer women on the board and especially those without any women at all.”
Read the whole Forbes article here.