The first step in getting prepared to lead and serve on a corporate board is to make a plan. As, I’ve written about before, getting board-ready is a journey. A journey where you need to be realistic in your skills, experience and value that you bring to a corporate board while acknowledging that there are lots of qualified corporate directors looking for corporate board opportunities.

I’m often asked how to begin a corporate board journey. And my best advice is to ask yourself these 10 questions to help you prepare yourself to lead and serve on a corporate board:

10 Board-Ready Questions

  1. Do you have a minimum of 10 to 15 years of experience in a senior executive role in the public, private, crown or not‐for‐profit sectors?
  2. Are you prepared to commit at least 200 to 300 hours per year to a corporate board role?
  3. Do you have the support of your own Board of Directors and/or senior executives to serve on a board?
  4. Do you have a formal governance certification or designation (C. Dir or ICD.D) from the Directors College or the Institute of Corporate Directors?
  5. Have you ever served on a board, not‐for‐profit or for profit?
  6. Are you a team player that understands the dynamics of boards is one of the most critical components of good governance?
  7. Do you fully understand the role, responsibility and liability of a corporate director?
  8. Do you understand the difference between a board of directors role versus a management role?
  9. Do you have financial acumen—can you read and understand financial statements?
  10. Do you have experience in critical areas in our changing world such as Risk Management, International Markets, M&A, Cyber Security, Digital Media, Big Data, etc.?

To help you begin your board journey, Women Get On Board has two upcoming workshops; “How to prepare yourself for Board roles” on November 2, 2016 and “How to get yourself on a Board” on December 7, 2016.

Hope you can join us!