I was asked to explain my interest in governance recently. The questioner wasn’t a board recruiter or head of the nominations committee of a board. It was a colleague who admitted she didn’t understand why anyone would want to sit on a company board.
As I was about to launch into my usual spiel that would undoubtedly lead to her viewing me forever more as a governance nerd, my mind flashed back to the day that I found myself in the middle of a Myers-Briggs session with a leadership group. For the record I am an ENFJ.
The N in my four-letter Myers-Briggs type indicates that I use intuition to take in information. I was at the extreme end of the scale with this metric and it was no surprise to me that I was therefore placed in the group with the big picture thinkers. My favourite perspective of a business or problem is the helicopter-view. And sitting on boards indulges that desire in me.
To date I have mainly sat on boards as an independent director and I know that this has provided me with a unique perspective and challenge. Independent directors by definition come with no strings attached. Many also are from outside the industry of the organisation. Therefore, staying up-to-date with the latest developments, trends and key risk factors is critical. I enjoy the process of risk identification and risk mitigation planning. If you don’t, which may be most people, then boards won’t be for you.
Sound governance is exciting. Yes I’m serious. In my experience, when an organisation is experiencing tough times the governance process becomes critical. Asking the right, informed questions of management without overstepping the mark into operational territory is a learned skill. But equally, knowing what to look for in a budget presentation to avoid rubber stamping a problem can be thrilling. I once sat on a private board alongside a group of high-flying men, many of whom were also directors of ASX-100 and very large private company boards. Any yet I was the person who identified that the cost base was growing at a faster rate than the revenue. That meeting was very early on in my board career and it gave me such a high that from then on I was hooked.
One of the main reasons that I enjoy boards is that what I have learned from looking at a business from above has made me a better executive. It is really useful to sit on other company boards for benchmarking, decision-making and structural ideas. I enjoy the process of governance because I like being part of the process that understands and aligns the interests of stakeholders who are generally passionate about wanting the organisation to be a success. I also like the responsibility of being part of a team that determines the course of a business and therefore is ultimately responsible for its success or failure.
My colleague and I were at a team lunch when she asked me to explain the attraction of board work. In fact she invited me to write about this for Women’s Agenda, which is why I have. At the end of our discussion she looked at me as if I had seriously lost the plot. As I said, it isn’t for everyone. But another colleague suddenly sat forward and started asking me how to get involved.