Don't pursue a board seat if ... ten reasons why you may not be a suitable candidate for a corporate board.

AuthorCraig, Pamela
PositionDIRECTOR RECRUITING

A lot has been written about how to know if you are the right fit for a board position. The good news is that if you are qualified for the job and focused on obtaining a board seat, opportunities will come across your radar. But they may not always be right for you. So how can you tell if a role is right? And, more importantly, how do you know when not to pursue board service at all?

To help answer these questions, we've identified our top 10 reasons why you should think twice about taking a board position. These insights come from our somewhat parallel journeys from the corporate world to the boardroom, and how our paths crossed via an organization called The Committee of 200 (C200). C200 is the only financially vetted, by-invitation group of corporate and entrepreneur female business leaders in the world. To be a member, you have to be a successful entrepreneur with over $20 million in revenue or a corporate executive running a large (over $250 million) line division in a major company. We had the latter opportunities at Accenture and Burberry, respectively.

We coincidentally each retired from corporate life in 2013. We were both interested in boards and compared notes frequently. There was a lot we didn't know, but we talked, researched, met people, read up ... and ultimately joined corporate boards. Now, combined, we occupy seven seats on public company boards. From time to time our fellow C200 members (there are almost 500 of them) ask us about how to gain a first board role. As it was with us, it often seems like a logical step in a career trajectory. C200 members make up a strong pool of talent for boards, particularly because their roles as CEOs or division heads mean that they have "sat in the seat" of the CEO and have faced similar company challenges.

Take an honest look

While it is critical for anyone considering a board opportunity to decide if they have a passion for this kind of work, it is just as important to take an honest look at whether a corporate board--and each specific opportunity you may be presented with--is really right for you, before taking the plunge. With that in mind, don't pursue a company board if:

  1. You want to be in charge. On a board you are not in charge. You provide oversight, advice, counsel. It is hard for some people to handle the difference between governance and management ... especially those who relish being in charge.

  2. You are an individual performer. You may be OK with not being in charge, but...

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