What to do after a successful board interview?

Congratulations on your successful board interview and on being offered your board role. I knew you could do it! Have you said yes? If you haven’t, I want you to pause to take a breath. There are a number of factors you need to consider before accepting the Non-Executive Director (NED) position. 

A ‘Yes’ does not mean you should accept the role

First, to state the obvious,  just because you have had a successful board interview and been offered the role does not mean you are obliged to take it. In a recent article, I suggested avoiding asking questions towards the end of your board interview, particularly when the board is still making critical decisions. But now is the time to ask them. In particular:

• Request and review their constitution, financial statements, and past board minutes. 
• Ask for an introduction to their lawyers, accountants, and auditors. You don’t need long conversations, but you should speak to them to ascertain whether there are any undisclosed matters you should be aware of. 
• Ask to speak with key executives – the CEO, CoSec, or CFO, perhaps.

Then…

The Board Chair

For me, the Chair is the litmus test for whether I accept an appointment. So ask yourself:

• Are they clever enough, or do they have the interpersonal skills, to lead the board? 
• Are they conscientious enough to govern the organisations? 
• Do you trust them? 

These are the sorts of things I want to know about the Chair.

Governance

There are plenty of organisations out there that have ropey governance structures and a history of governance failures, so ask yourself:

• Is the governance of the organisation what you believe it should be?
  Does the board follow a formal or informal process to resolve differences?
• If the governance structure is not great, can you change it, or can you operate effectively within it?

Your future

The desire to give back is important to many NED’s, but that should not overshadow the personal benefits of a board appointment, so ask yourself:

• Will this board appointment provide an opportunity to develop your governance experience and skills?
• Will the board appointment support your future board career? (Several studies suggest that the initial board appointment may be indicative of the final board appointment obtained.)
• What is the remuneration, if any?

Logistics

Boring, I know, but you need to know whether the time required of you comes at the expense of your executive career or family commitments. So ask yourself:

• How much time is required to fulfil the reason for your appointment?
• Where and when are meetings held?

Risk

The role of the board is to govern, manage, and set the strategic direction of the organisation, ensuring accountable corporate performance aligns with goals and objectives. Accepting an appointment, therefore, comes with significant risk. It is first and foremost your role to mitigate these risks in your mind before saying ‘yes’. But remember that, as a NED, your job is, in large part, to be comfortable with risk. So ask yourself:

• Do the risks outweigh the rewards? 
• What would be the consequences to your reputation, finances, or career should something go wrong?

Fit

Fit is everything. It does not matter how good the chair or board members are; if the organisation’s culture is not a good fit for you, you will quickly become disillusioned and ineffective. So ask yourself: 

• Is the culture of the board a good fit, and in an environment where you will feel comfortable contributing?

Passion

I think the last question, to be honest, is how passionate you are about the organisation itself, what it does, or your contribution to it. If you can’t 100% believe in the organisation, maybe it isn’t right for you. So ask yourself:

• Are you truly passionate about the role and the organisation?

Conclusion

The board interview process can be long and arduous, so a successful outcome is certainly worth celebrating. When considering whether to accept the role, it is important to evaluate factors such as the risks & rewards, the cultural fit, and potential conflicts of interest. 

One last thing. A successful board interview can lead to more opportunities if you know how to leverage it. In my next article, I’ll show you how to do this.

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