When I began writing a blog on leadership and growth in 2014, I wasn’t thinking of how one might join a corporate board. Yet as I’ve been out and about speaking, and publishing weekly blog posts, the #1 question I’ve been asked is “How do I join a corporate board?”
What amazed me most was that the people who were asking were already quite successful and leading in extraordinary companies. It was obvious to me that they would be a real asset on any board. I realized that there isn’t much information available for busy leaders on how they can advance to a board.
Over the years I’ve had dozens of informal conversations with friends and colleagues on how to be suggested and selected for board service.
Based on those conversations, my own board experiences, what I learned from professional board training, and my experiences as an advisor to Women in Technology’s Leadership Foundry (a selective training program for hundreds of women), I wrote several articles and also developed a handout with action steps to achieve the goal of serving on a board.
Eventually I began advising larger groups in live workshops and received such positive feedback, I decided to offer a video workshop online.
Now, when someone asks, “How do I join a corporate board?”, I point them to these resources. Occasionally, I will lead a workshop called Accelerate Your Path to Board Service for companies and business groups. If you would like more info, please contact me.
Below are some of my articles on how to become board worthy and board ready.
Nasdaq’s Winning Women series seeks to share the insights of successful business women from inside the boardroom and C-suite. In the first of our series on Winning Women, Caren Merrick, Nasdaq company director and entrepreneur, spoke with fellow veteran board member and expert on corporate diversity and inclusion Janet Hill. During the interview, Janet shared…
If you know your goals, but don’t have a plan to achieve them, that is wishful thinking. Napoleon Hill, a top ten bestselling author of all time said, “Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.” Serving on…
Serving on a board is a significant way to use your expertise and make a positive impact on a company. It’s a position of great trust, privilege, and responsibility. You may think, “I would love to serve on a board, but I’m not sure how to get there… What is the next step?” Or, you…
One of the most important frontiers where women can have profound and far reaching impact is in the corporate boardroom. Much research proves the value of women in boardroom; and even more research suggests how to advance more women to boards. While progress is slow, some are taking steps to #BeBoldForChange. Earlier this week, State…
As a one-time customer of Yahoo!, I was staggered to learn that the biggest data breach in history occurred three years after 500 million to one billion Yahoo! customers had their information stolen. How could the company justify the delay in notification? What role did the board have in deciding when to communicate with customers,…
This post first appeared on Women 2.0, a community-driven media brand designed for aspiring and current innovators in technology. If one of your career goals is to serve on a board of directors, good for you! Board service is an exceptional opportunity to contribute your strengths to a worthy cause. It will allow you to grow…
Happy new year and I hope you are off to a wonderful and productive start! My goal has always been to provide you with valuable guidance on how to take small, incremental steps to advance in your career and achieve a life of success and happiness. As we jump into the new year, I’m eager…
This is first in a three part series where I provide guidance to help high achieving professionals reach their goals of serving on a corporate board. The first corporate board I served on (in 1996!) was informal; we sat around the small coffee table in the living room of our modest town home. I was cofounder…
Are you stumped on how to respond to a problem at work? As you asses your situation, your colleagues, boss, or team, do you feel frustrated at the lack of forward progress? You may feel powerless to change it. You may believe that your team or your boss holds the key to solving a problem…
This article was originally published on the Pocket Mentor mobile app – start your free trial today! “The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.” – Leonardo da Vinci In our recent audience survey, you said you wanted more insights, tips, and tools on setting and achieving goals… and we listened! So, let’s start with…
Shonda Rhimes recently challenged Dartmouth grads, “Dreams are for losers, be a doer not a dreamer – it’s hard work that makes things happen!” That sounds a bit harsh, but she got their attention! A lot of people get stuck not because they don’t dream – but because they don’t DO. Did you set audacious…
“When you write down a goal, you’ll observe things happening that will make that objective more likely to materialize.” – Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert What would you like to see happen in your career this year? What would you like to do; to accomplish? What good would you like to do in the…
As a working Mom whose job was to lead a global marketing group in a high growth tech company, I had a lot on my plate. It was a unique time – my husband (fellow co-founder, and CEO of the co) was traveling most of the time – we agreed this was manageable for awhile.