Weak ties: the silver bullet for a board appointment?

Weak tie connections are people you see rarely or infrequently. But they are also people you haven’t met yet. Previous articles of mine suggest that over 50% of all board appointments occur via “weak ties”. So, who are these key people? There could be an infinite number of them – conceivably, they are everyone, but conversely, very few are likely to be valuable in your board search. The key, then, is to identify who these valuable weak ties are.

First things first

Before you can identify valuable weak ties, you first need to be clear on what organisations you both want and can be appointed to the board of – I refer to these as your target organisations. This step is fundamental as it forms the basis of any successful board search. Without clarity on your target organisations, your path towards a board appointment may be misguided, time-consuming, and frustrating. Furthermore, if you stumble across a valuable contact, you will lack the clarity to identify their potential or pitch to them successfully—an opportunity lost.

The good news is that defining your weak ties is relatively easy once you have your target list in place. From there, leveraging them is straightforward. Before I explain the process, it’s probably worth pausing to recognise that many of you (like me) dislike the idea of networking (it sounds uncomfortable and even scary, right?). You’ll be pleased to know this isn’t what I’m talking about. Here, I suggest developing personal connections with people you have something in common with – specifically, your target organisations – those that you and they are passionate about.

A framework to identify valuable weak ties

Below is the framework we use to do just that. I prefer to use a mind mapping-based model, which is more visual and works for me. However, you could equally use a spreadsheet to achieve the same results.

• Step 1: Put the name of one of your target organisations in the centre box.
• Step 2: List the names of your target’s current Chair and NEDs in the boxes above the red dotted line.
• Step 3: In the white box on the right side of your target, put the names of all past NEDs of your target organisation.
• Step 4: In the white box on the left side of your target, put the names of any past CEOs and past executives.
• Step 5: In the remaining three white boxes write the names of a stakeholder organisation, a client organisation and a competitor organisation, then below each of these boxes list the names of all the current and past NEDs of those organisations.

People come to me regularly and tell me that they don’t have the right connections or not enough of them. I hope you can see how powerful this framework is. Developing weak tie connections is easy, and following this model should result in the names of at least 30 weak ties for you to connect with.

Better still is that when you have a list of more than one target, and I recommend having 12, which is the number of targets we focus on with our Executive and Non-Executive Program members, you will be able to identify over 360 valuable weak ties. Why 12? Beyond generating hundreds of new genuine and authentic connections, 12 targets means you can focus on one target per month for 12 months—the time we believe a board appointment should occur.

Why does it work?

This approach is highly successful for several reasons:

• It provides focus and structure to an overwhelming task;
• It clarifies who to speak with and who not to waste your time with;
• It opens up not only more but also smoother conversations, because this approach allows you to connect with people authentically and legitimately by leveraging a shared passion for what they do. This will give you confidence in your ability to help, with fewer awkward silences and more “yes’s” to your requests for coffee meetings;
• You get a greater return on the investment of your valuable time. No more speaking to anyone and everyone about your board aspirations – just the people who are most likely to be able to help;
• These valuable weak ties can provide access to additional information, challenges faced, terminology used, and insights about your target organisation. If the opportunity arises to present yourself to the current board or Chair, you will be seen as someone who is connected, informed, proactive, intelligent, and engaged. As such, you will be received as a warmer candidate, less of a risk, and more appointable.
  
  

It gets even better

Perhaps, more important than all these reasons combined; by adopting this approach you are connecting with NEDs who have similar interests to you and currently sit on or have sat on other boards. This is where, I think, things get particularly exciting. These weak-tie board members are likely to sit on other boards, perhaps one, six, or even more currently or in the past.

Remember, more than 80% of all board appointments are made informally, without the involvement of recruiters or advertisements. A recent study suggests that 50% of Australian boards have recruited a new Non-Executive Director (NED) in the last 12 months, and plenty of roles are out there waiting for you to find. That means they are connected to other organisations that might be looking for board members. So, by following my framework and reaching out to valuable weak ties (with a clear board pitch and a shared passion), you can access opportunities you simply won’t find through formal board search approaches.

So, are weak ties the silver bullet to a board appointment?

Whilst weak ties are not a silver bullet – there’s no such thing when it comes to finding and gaining a board appointment – they are pretty close!

This approach, more than anything else you do, will result in:

• finding board roles others can’t;
• finding opportunities better suited to you and your skill set and interests;
  getting appointed more often;
• and as such, getting a far greater return on the investment of your valuable time… all without the frustration and disappointment of relying on cocktail parties, business cards, or formal application processes.
  
  

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