How the 6Cs can help you become an Effective Board Member

If you want to make a positive difference in the world, joining a board is a good step. I believe that to have a long-term impact you need to have some influence at the top of an organisation.

What to consider before applying to serve on a board

It is vital that you agree with the vision of the company or organisation that you will serve and are passionate about its customers, beneficiaries or users.

The statutory duty of a director is a fiduciary duty, i.e. you are trusted to promote the success of the company or organisation. This means that you are part of making decisions for the long-term and for the benefit of all stakeholders, which includes customers, clients, funders and regulators.

An important part of serving on any board is your ability to fit in with the people already on the board. Meeting new people and networking with them can serve you all your life. You will learn from these new connections and potentially from the people they know too. You will probably have heard of the concept of ‘six degrees of separation’. This is the idea that everyone in the world is six or fewer steps away from anyone else through a chain of connections. The idea was first put forward by Hungarian author and journalist Frigyes Karinthy in 1929. Everyone you come into contact with through your board work can help sharpen your thoughts and bring out the best in you as well as forging links between you, them and their connections.

The SERVE acronym sets out the reasons to join a board

A key aspect of sitting on a board is the opportunity to SERVE that board and its company or organisation. The role of a non-executive director (NED) is a challenging but ultimately rewarding role. It demands integrity and high ethical standards. NEDs bring valuable life and business experience to boards.

With this in mind I have created an acronym to help you remember the key reasons why you might want to serve on a board, or as a governor or charity trustee.

S –  Skills As a board member you have to look at things from a different perspective and will acquire new skills in the process. If you have a functional skill, such as finance or legal experience, you will attain broader knowledge in many new aspects of leading and running the organisation you serve as a board member. Skills you will acquire could include raising funds on the stock exchange, the latest risk assessment techniques or new thinking on cyber security and technology. Board members will also learn negotiating and influencing skills and the ability to gather and interpret data and come up with solutions and recommendations.

E –  Expertise  Each board member will have a specific skill, or skills, and a unique background. Joining a board allows you to share your unique insights and professional skills with the other members. You have the opportunity to become the board champion in areas you are particularly interested in or where your skills lie. By helping newer and less experienced board members you will be supporting the next generation of leaders and encouraging others to become non-executive directors. In the Bible there is a phrase “…iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17). This is certainly true of being an effective board member. By coming into contact with other board members with different expertise you will find you sharpen each others’ ideas, thoughts and abilities.

R – Remuneration Most roles in the private sector and with larger voluntary organisations will pay you for your time. The one exception is charities, which only remunerate trustees and board members for expenses incurred in the course of their duties.

V – Value Being a board member enables you to have a strategic impact on helping the organisation to achieve its objectives. It’s a golden opportunity to give back to the community and support causes that are important to you. There are indirect benefits to you through the skills and experience you will gain. The first step to securing a board member role where you can deliver and receive the most value is to do your research and identify the type of appointment and the sector in which you want to work. Choose an organisation where you can bring about a positive change and make a valued contribution.

E – Experience You get an opportunity to have new experiences in different areas and sectors to the ones in which you are already a specialist. If you have worked as a senior team member in a large business, then sitting on the board of a smaller organisation will give you a new opportunity to see new things from a new perspective. The experience of being a board member will make you a better leader.

How the 6Cs determine whether you are an effective board member

Good governance is essential to the successful operation of any company or organisation, whether it is in the private, public or voluntary sector, and it comes from the board of directors. Clearly, the more effective the individual board members are, the more effective governance as a whole will be.

A school governing body, for example, should be made up of individually and collectively competent members. Every governor should have a core set of competences: finance, leadership, education and human resources. There should also be specialists with particular skills, such as the law, so that together the governing body has all the skills and expertise needed to run the school. The same principles apply to trustees and non-executive directors of other companies and organisations.

If you are involved in the governance of organisations as a board member, governor or trustee you can measure how effective you are against core attributes, which I describe as the 6Cs of leadership. Some board members will have these attributes in place, but others may need training and development to operate at the most effective level possible.

Competence: Board members need core skills in finance, the law, governance, general commercial understanding and human resources. A core principle of leadership is having a vision and motivating other people towards that vision.

Commitment: You can be competent but if you don’t read your board papers or understand what the organisation does, how will you challenge and scrutinise the business or organisation and its activities? An effective board member makes time to: attend training; understand the organisation or company in depth; attend a full company or organisation induction; read board papers and attend meetings and committees.

Contribution: You can only be effective if you are adding value to the organisation, project or initiative that you are working on. To do this you need to make useful contributions to discussions at board and committee meetings, at events organised on behalf of the organisation and at away days. Boards are strengthened by having independent NEDs who have no other connection with the company. They can be objective and their thinking is often less constrained.

Comprehension: In order to contribute and lead effectively, you must understand the culture, history and the objectives of the organisation you serve and be able to communicate all those elements effectively to all stakeholders.

Capability: There are many ‘soft’ skills that an effective board member should have in addition to their core skills in finance, technology, HR etc. Key skills include the ability to influence and negotiate, to communicate, to analyse and to think strategically.

Code: The seven Nolan Principles identify a code of behaviour that is essential to being an effective board member. These principles are Openness; Objectivity; Selflessness; Honesty; Leadership; Integrity and Accountability. In addition I would highlight the need to be tenacious and determined.

Final thoughts on being an effective board member

Before you apply to serve on a board, take some time to reflect on the reasons why you want to serve. Ensure that you understand how your skills and experience can add value to the company or organisation’s existing board and that you are motivated to make a difference.

This groundwork will ensure that when you join a board you are in a strong position to deliver on the 6Cs of effective board members. The 6Cs, in turn, will ensure that you can add value to your board and also to the people that the organisation serves.

 

Until next time…