Your Board Appointment Plan: 10 step guide

Regardless of circumstances or experience, a successful board career begins with a structured, realistic Board Appointment plan. If you don’t have one, now (at the beginning of the year) is the time to create it. If you have one, the new year is the perfect time to reflect, revise, and adjust. Even if you have successfully gained a board seat, plans change, and so do your circumstances. I always recommend that aspiring directors review their board and executive career plans at least once a year, ideally at the same time.

Here is a 10-step guide to ensure you are well prepared to create and capitalize on opportunities that can help you secure a board seat this year.

STEP 1 – Adopt a proactive approach

Yes, many board appointments occur, directly or indirectly, through personal or professional connections. However, board seats are rarely offered to people who are not actively seeking one. If you want a board seat this year, you must be proactive; now is the time to begin.

Securing a board seat will require more than a reactive approach of simply applying for vacancies when they are advertised. Firstly, most board, committee, and advisory board opportunities are not openly advertised. Secondly, when board opportunities are advertised, they can still be incredibly difficult to find. This is even more so if the process is handled by a recruiter.

If you are successful in finding an advertised board role, you will face numerous well-qualified, proactive candidates with up-to-date board resumes and ready to go. They will know what they have to offer the board and may already have established connections with the recruiter or organization.

A proactive approach should not only keep you one step ahead of the competition but also help you stay ahead of the curve. With the right plan, you can identify unadvertised opportunities and take a direct approach to secure a board seat. A proactive approach should start with you telling people that you are seeking a board seat.

STEP 2 – Consider your long-term board goals

Achieving your long-term board goals is challenging, but even moreso if you are unsure what they are. They do not need to be set in stone. In fact, your aspirations are unlikely to be realistic if you do not modify them along the way. However, without them, you lack direction and the ability to avoid ill-informed decisions that could prevent you from reaching your full leadership potential. So, ask yourself, ‘What sort of board(s) do I want to serve on within the next 5-10 years?’ If, for example, your answer is a significant commercial company, then think about which organizations and roles today may help you get there. Now, focus on how to achieve these or similar short-term board goals.

STEP 3 – Stop doing what isn’t working

“The harder you work, the more successful you get” sounds fair and good advice. But I can assure you that from a board appointment perspective, the harder you work does not correlate to success. It is not a numbers game. I see people continually submitting board applications and then sitting back, waiting for a call. At best, they get an email informing them that their application was unsuccessful. Sometimes they may make it to the board interview stage, but still do not get appointed.

I firmly believe there is a board role out there for everyone. If your hard work is not paying off, it is time to reflect on what you can do differently. Don’t keep doing the same thing repeatedly and again “ad nauseam”. You need to work smarter, not harder.

STEP 4 – Learn to jump hurdles

Think about what is preventing you from securing a board appointment or from starting your search. Recognizing current and potential hurdles, then planning for them, is essential. Three common things often cause hurdles and prevent individuals from gaining a board seat:

1. Targeting the wrong organization or industries
2. A board pitch that is not convincing
3. Lack of resilience and consistency in one’s approach

When faced with a hurdle, reviewing these three key areas should help you find a way around or over it.

STEP 5 – Write or revamp your board resume

Having reviewed over 10,000 board resumes and written over 5,000, I know that a carefully crafted Board Resume works. Whilst it is not the only factor that will get you appointed, it significantly influences the decisions of recruiters, board chairs, and selection panels. After being appointed to the board of a commercial company, a client asked the chair, “What attracted you to me initially?” They responded, “It was the style, format, and clearly articulated content of your board resume.”

Your executive resume will not have this level of impact. In fact, submitting an executive resume for a board role may be interpreted as a lack of commitment to the role and a board career, or that you are poorly organized. Some candidates mistakenly assume that their reputation alone is enough to secure the appointment.

STEP 6 – Write your board profile

To write your board profile or pitch, you must know your value at board level. Not only do you have to know it, but you also have to be able to articulate it formally and informally confidently.

Start by finishing this sentence: “At board level, what I do is….” Don’t get into details; focus on strategic results. This is an exercise in refining your message and building your board brand with a powerful board value position (BVP). To get results, your message must be clear and compelling. Neglecting or cutting corners on this step may lead to perceptions of being overly broad or opportunistic, and easily overlooked. You cannot be everything to everyone.

STEP 7 – Write a target list

In many countries, it is estimated that 50% of organizations will appoint a new board, advisory board, or committee member each year. When establishing your Board Appointment plan, you must focus on the organizations that would value you and your skills and experience enough to appoint you.

Start by drafting a list of at least 12 organizations you believe would appoint you (if they had a vacancy on the board) and you want to serve. Add similar organizations, competitor organizations, or stakeholder organizations to your list. This list will provide a framework for proactively reaching out to organisations and building a board network. The process will also help you pinpoint what types of roles you are looking for and identify who can help you along the way.

STEP 8 – Be active on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is key, whether you focus on a formal or informal path to a board appointment. Building and nurturing connections is an essential part of a proactive board appointment plan. You can never fully anticipate the impact that a single connection might have on your board career.

Use your list of target organizations (from Step 7) to research and compose a list of the current and past directors. Connecting with them should be straightforward if you are authentic and legitimate. Always follow your target organizations and similar organizations on LinkedIn. This will ensure news, announcements, and even board opportunities appear in your feed.

Finally, organizations and recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary tool to source potential board candidates. Therefore, you must ensure that your LinkedIn profile is always up to date and board-ready. It must reflect what you offer at the board level.

STEP 9 – Make time

Securing a board seat within 12 months is a realistic goal. To make it happen, you must be committed and consistent. This means setting dedicated time to make it happen. From today, in your diary, add a recurring weekly appointment of at least 30 minutes to action your board appointment plan. Include the individual tasks to be completed. Make working on your board career a habit.

STEP 10 – Seek support

Over the past decade, I have helped thousands worldwide develop their personal Board Appointment Plans and gain board seats. My Board Appointment Programs provide the documents (including a Board Resume) and the coaching you need to gain a board seat within the next 12 months.

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