Tag Archives: government boards

The box conundrum

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coffees4This past week I met with the chairman of a number of listed and unlisted boards and who has over 20 years of board experience. Introduced by a friend of mine who happens to be an executive member of one of those boards, he was aware that I was finding the process of building a portfolio of non-executive directorships harder than expected. This chairman is a willing mentor of women (and men) and has been a mentor in the AICD Chairmen’s Mentoring Program three times.

He told me that most of the people he meets with have been in a role or an industry for many years and have deep experience. Often they have been lawyers or consultants. They fit squarely in a particular box and in order to be attractive for board roles, they need to widen their experience and skill set. However, in my case, the chairman noted, I have had a broad range of experiences that have utilised a broad range of skills and I don’t seem to have a particular box to fit in! The problem with this, the chairman went on to say, is that people don’t know what I am good at. Generalists are not sought out anymore, people with particular skills or industry knowledge are.

Without trying to sound too frustrated, I pointed out to the chairman that rather than having stayed in one role for 25 years, I had chosen to try a few different roles and enhance a range of skills. However, I did feel there was a consistency across all my roles that focused on “top line revenue generation”. In other words, helping a business grow. Not unlike another senior board director I had spoken with, he noted that this was quite an executive trait. “You could be fielding calls from head-hunters for CEO roles,” he said. “I am” I replied. But surely a board needs people who understand the skills required for a business to grow and can ask and challenge the executives? That theory applies after all to industry knowledge, to financial management, to risk, and so on. After all, the 2014 AICD Conference later this month is all about growth.

I have to confess that following the meeting my mood was quite sombre for a while. Too much a generalist, not enough experience in big companies, no specific industry experience… It’s going to keep on being tough. Then I refocused and decided one meeting doesn’t determine my direction or my outcomes. It’s has to be about taking in the information and assimilating it with all the other information and advice. I could assure the chairman that I had spoken to most of the head-hunters in town, I had tried the government approach (admittedly with little successful penetration to date) and I was doing the networking. I am sitting on boards now and I know I am being effective. I also intuitively believe that working in a small or medium size business means one learns a lot more about business than working in one or two areas of a larger business (although I did work for an organisation that had 90,000 employees…).

The chairman did say that so often it is about serendipity and the planets being in alignment. I can’t help but think that the 1000 coffees along the way may assist the circumstances that eventuate in the “fortuitous happenstance”.

 

Coffee count: 253 coffees

Postscript: Following my last post, it may not surprise anyone that there hasn’t been a rash of offers from head-hunters or recruiters signing up to follow this blog. But I did have a call regarding a CEO role…..

2013 Review

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christmas coffeeAs the year draws to a close, it’s been an eventful one for this blogger.

This time last year I was one of seemingly thousands of women and men looking for a non-executive directorship, trying to distinguish myself amongst many talented and experienced people.

I started this blog with a view to differentiating myself (as I exhort my consulting clients to do) and at the same time wanting to share the learnings I have gained during my many coffee meetings. I also hoped to be able to help other aspirants avoid at least some of the disappointments and frustrations I have experienced as they travel on their own journeys.  I will continue to aim to do this and at the same time share my views of the various aspects of the “Diversity Issue” that arise from time to time.

The multiplier effect of social media resulted in my first non-executive director role and this has been a great learning experience.  I’ve been thrown in the deep end in terms of the expectation to contribute to the board and have had to put governance theories into practice.  I have also closely observed and experienced the boundaries between executive and non-executive roles.

Throughout the year, I maintained the pursuit of my 1000 coffees with people from whom I can learn something or who can introduce me to others. As a result of this and the support of a mentor and champion, I have just secured a NED role on the Foundation of a major NSW public institution.  I am excited to be able to work with such a talented and passionate group of people, both within the Foundation and on its board.  While they want the skills I can bring, the match-making process still came through networking and being recommended by others.

In the very same week I was contacted in relation to another potential NED role, this time in a privately owned, private equity invested company.  While it’s not yet certain where this will go, it is an exciting way for the year to finish.

2013 has been a year where the “Diversity Issue” has had more headlines than ever before.  There has been much more discussion and action about how to make change, as opposed to just the need for change.  More women have been appointed to boards than in previous years and more women have moved up the executive ranks in more companies and organisations than ever before.  I believe there is a greater awareness in Australia of the benefits of having women help run and direct businesses, whether they be public, private, government or non-profit. There is an acknowledgement of the need to do things differently than in the past, to help make that happen.  It won’t occur overnight and there are still many hurdles and stumbling blocks to manage, but change is taking place and recognition should be accorded to those who have driven this change.

My thanks to the people who follow this blog and who have recommended it to others. Thanks also to those who have encouraged me to write it and to continue to develop it (you know who you are).  Wishing you all “Season’s Greetings” and hoping you enjoy some downtime over the Australian summer.  1000 coffees will continue in 2014.

Coffee count: 217

Good time for women

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coffees4After my blog a few weeks ago noting how difficult it is to get into government, I thought I should give credit where it’s due.

Anyone interested in the non-executive director (NED) space would be aware of the discussion about women on boards in the past few years.  The discussion has covered the gamut of topics, from the fact there are not enough women on boards, why this is so, how to improve this situation, that companies with more women on their boards do better, and consequently what a good time it is for women who are seeking board roles.  Plenty of talk, real change is taking longer….

There are lots and lots of very qualified women looking for board roles. I’ve met many of them and everyone I meet tells me that too.  While there aren’t lots of female ex-C-suite executives to fill board vacancies, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that there are many women seeking board positions who are better qualified for a NED role than some existing male NEDs.  As this blog canvasses, there are lots of reasons why it’s hard for women to break through into the network and there are lots of lessons we are learning in the process.  But despite the fact there is both a supposedly strong demand and certainly a plentiful supply, that first board role is still elusive for many women.

Last year, the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Penny Wong, announced the BoardLinks initiative, directly aimed at providing “more opportunities for women to be appointed to their first board, to launch and further their directorship careers” and to meet the Australian Government’s own target of having 40% women on Government boards.  It was very gratifying that someone in a position of influence understood the “first board barrier” and sought to do something about it!!  At this point, BoardLinks has operated to provide a database of appropriately qualified women to Government organisations, which at least makes the organisations aware of potential candidates who are women who might not otherwise be seen through networks or recruiter introductions.  So far so good. However it’s still a passive process from the relevant women’s perspective.  Hopefully there is more to come.

Now the Federal Government has launched a new website called Australian Government Boards which contains information “relating to more than 450 Australian Government boards and bodies across government, including a description of each board and its function, positions and appointments and term expiry dates” (http://www.ausgovboards.gov.au/).  This site provides a single location to make an active search and campaign for a government board much simpler and more transparent.  Anyone can now find out easily what boards there are, who is on the board, where there might be opportunities and when and work out how to make an approach.  This is definitely a step in the right direction and should be applauded by all those who have had the advice “try and get on a government board”!

I do suspect this information might result in a few more coffees for me…..

Coffee count: 160