Welcome aboard to your youngster' on the board.

• Author: Cagan, Dennis
• Position: BOARD COMPOSITION

The addition of a new director always impacts (not always for the good) board dynamics, and if the new director is particularly young this adds even more to the challenge for both the freshman director and the board. But a smooth onboarding is eminently doable.

Many seasoned directors have noticed the fairly recent minitrend, as chronicled in the business press, of much younger individuals being elected to big company boards (where the average age is 63). We are not talking here about successful corporate executives in their 40s, but rather entrepreneurs in their 20s or early 30s, often with little real business experience much less any board experience or even any meaningful tenure with a company having revenue or, dare we say, profits. One might think, why ... and then, OK, how can we prepare them for this responsibility?

After having had the privilege of sitting on many boards over many years, I have seen and served with the widest possible variety of directors: from ages 18 to 85, from no high school diploma to multiple Ph.D.s, both genders, many ethnic backgrounds, and from zero business experience to sitting directors of Fortune 100 companies. In addition, as with most directors with at least a couple of years of service, I have also have seen a full range of personalities and behaviors: nasty, disagreeably argumentative, not so bright, and even criminal, as well as delightful, polite, thoughtful, intelligent, and even lovable. While a much younger director might still represent a cross section of all the above, they may also add a distinct generational element to the equation.

This is an important time in corporate governance to ask, and try to answer, the question, "What advice would you have for these new (young) directors so that they can blend in, be effective, and avoid making naive youthful mistakes." This is my attempt to do this dual objective justice. I hope that regardless of the reader's reference point, my thoughts are helpful.

Dynamics

From my experience, and that of many fellow directors who have shared their opinions with me, the most common single problem underlying nonperforming boards is board dynamics --the interpersonal relationships and communication culture within the board. A young first-time freshman director and all their welcoming (all too often upper class male) colleagues on the board are advised to be keenly conscious of this factor. Everyone should be very comfortable with the mix of personalities as well as qualifications.

Throughout your interview process make good use of personal interviews, and in the final stage even possibly invite the candidate to a guest sit-in on appropriate segments of a board meeting. Whether you are the 'joiner' or the 'joined,' this could avoid tremendous potential unpleasantness down the road. This is not totally about age; however, as everyone will...