Editor’s Word: For many CEOs and CFOs at mid-market firms, touchdown a seat on a public or personal firm board could be a stellar profession transfer, a profitable and thrilling technique to put many years of expertise to work in an entire new manner. However making it occur? Not straightforward. To assist, we’re kicking off a brand new occasional collection with sensible ideas and concepts. And if you happen to’re severe about attempting to get on a board, I’d additionally advocate having a look our sister publication Company Board Member, which presents well-priced, high-value on-line studying applications to present you an edge. — DB
A protracted, profitable C-Suite profession? Verify. Nice interpersonal abilities and references? Verify. Deep business expertise and experience? Verify.
These are the sorts of abilities and background one would look forward to finding in a perspective board member. However they’re hardly sufficient—at the least not if you’d like an edge on getting the board seats you doubtless need.
In immediately’s aggressive panorama, if you wish to land a seat on a public firm board, members should be strategic not solely about how they put together for the job (and we have now sources that can assist you do this) you additionally must be savvy about how the way you current your self on-line—significantly on LinkedIn—to stay seen and engaging for brand spanking new board alternatives.
“There are solely 30,000 board seats accessible in public firms,” says board recruitment professional Tate Purcell, a longtime director himself and a presently on the board of Air+ Inc. “In the event that they flip over on a mean each 5 years, it’s solely 6,000.”
Standing out, in different phrases, is crucial. In a current dialog on the sidelines of our annual Director’s Discussion board in Dallas, Purcell—who routinely hosts seminars on this matter for various board-focused organizations, together with our sister publication Company Board Member—shared sensible recommendation for these trying to refine their public personas within the hopes of touchdown a board seat.
“The manager resume focuses on the proactive issues that you could implement and you’ve got applied, so it’s operationally targeted,” says Purcell. “The board member, as you recognize, isn’t operationally forecast targeted. They’re targeted on teaching, serving to the administration workforce to do these operational issues. And so the board bio and the general public persona must be extra targeted on the way you assist folks to do these issues.”
Right here’s a few of what he suggests:
Keep away from Focusing Too A lot on Previous Titles. One of the crucial frequent errors board members make is structuring their LinkedIn profiles like a profession resume. “They give attention to the positions that they’re presently in or the positions that they have been in,” Purcell defined. Whereas previous expertise is effective, an efficient board profile must be forward-looking and spotlight the worth the person brings to the boardroom relatively than merely itemizing previous titles.
Shift Away from an Operational Focus. One other frequent misstep is presenting a profile that reads like that of an govt relatively than a board member. “They’ll put collectively a profile that appears like a CEO or a CFO…which isn’t what a board member does,” Purcell famous. Board members aren’t answerable for operating the corporate—they supply oversight, strategic steering and governance. Profiles ought to mirror this distinction.
Outline a Clear ‘Distinctive Worth Proposition’. To face out, “the primary line of your headline must ship what I name the UVP, the distinctive worth proposition,” Purcell mentioned. As a substitute of merely itemizing a title, the headline ought to summarize the experience and influence the board member can carry. A robust instance: “Serving to manufacturing firms and their boards thrive”—a press release that instantly conveys relevance and worth.
Optimize for Each People and Algorithms. LinkedIn profiles must attraction to each human readers and search algorithms. “Your ‘about’ part on LinkedIn is actually the place you wish to be extra algorithm pleasant,” Purcell suggested. This implies incorporating related key phrases all through the profile to extend discoverability whereas guaranteeing the general narrative is compelling to human viewers—significantly board nominating committees.
Use Board-Applicable Language. The language in a board member’s profile ought to mirror governance tasks relatively than govt duties. “Some no-nos could be ‘executed’ or ‘applied,’” Purcell emphasised. As a substitute, he suggests utilizing phrases like “coached,” “facilitated” or “led the method,” which higher align with board-level contributions.
Acknowledge That Networking Drives Board Placements. Whereas LinkedIn optimization is crucial, Purcell underscored that networking stays the best technique to safe board alternatives. “The first technique to get on a board is to know somebody who’s already on that board,” he mentioned. Many board searches begin with present board members tapping their networks earlier than partaking search corporations.
Maintain Profiles Up-to-Date—Repeatedly. Ready till actively looking for a brand new function to refresh a LinkedIn profile is a mistake. “When that surprising telephone name comes from a buddy who says, ‘Hey, we’re rotating out outdated Charlie and we’d like to think about you for a board,’ then you definitely’re prepared,” Purcell mentioned. A well-maintained public persona ensures board members are positioned for brand spanking new alternatives as they come up.
Know Who Your Profile Ought to Be Concentrating on. Board members ought to tailor their LinkedIn presence to the correct viewers. “You’re actually concentrating on the chairman of the nominating governance committee,” Purcell defined. This particular person performs a central function in figuring out and recommending director candidates, making it important {that a} board member’s profile clearly communicates the worth they bring about to the desk.
Perceive How Headhunters Use LinkedIn—and Don’t. Whereas some board members assume headhunters are the first viewers for his or her LinkedIn profiles, Purcell clarifies that’s not solely correct. “Individuals might imagine that they wish to have the first focus level of their LinkedIn be a headhunter, [but] it’s not really true,” he mentioned. Whereas headhunters do use LinkedIn for searches, board placements are extra usually pushed by networking and inside referrals.
Be Ready for Alternatives at Any Time. The very best board candidates are those that are at all times ready. “The first manner they get discovered, in fact, is LinkedIn,” Purcell mentioned. Having a well-structured profile and a refined board bio ensures that when an surprising alternative arises, a board member can confidently articulate their worth and be prepared to have interaction within the course of.
“It’s essential have your supplies nicely thought by,” says Pursell. Going by the method of doing that for LinkedIn, constructing out your bio, could be a useful a part of the preparation course of—serving to to make sure that you’re prepared for a constructive dialogue when approached by a board recruiting a brand new director. “You’ve finished the homework,” says Pursell. “You’ve gotten the entire info high of thoughts. And so you’ll be able to go and articulate your distinctive worth proposition to that chance that you simply actually didn’t anticipate, nevertheless it got here to you.”
