You should. There are so many reasons you should consider making a board appointment a significant part of your career, including:

• • Additional Income – an average private sector NED earns AUD $41,000 per appointment (Australian Board Remuneration Survey) and NZD $46,000 (EY/IODNZ);
  • Career Development – those who hold board appointments in addition to an executive role earn 13% more than their peers and their likelihood of being promoted increased by 44% (Harvard Business Review);
  • Give Back – an opportunity to give back to organisations/causes you might be passionate about,
  • Upskill – skills and experience to work with your own board better;
  • Networks – develop professional opportunities you can’t leverage elsewhere.

Ask the right questions

There are over 90,000 organisations across the commercial, not for profit and government sectors in Australia and New Zealand that have boards and recent studies have found that 50% of these businesses recruit new board members each year. That means there are ~45,000 NED roles available and filled annually and finance and accounting skills are the most highly sought after. So the question is not Are their opportunities available? Can you contribute? Or Should you pursue a board appointment?

Instead…

If you are interested in gaining a board appointment or developing a board career the questions you really need answers to are: How do you find the right board opportunities? and How will you get appointed?