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A board invitation can feel like a breakthrough, particularly when you have been working towards your first appointment.
It can also create pressure to say yes before you have had the chance to understand what you are stepping into.
That is why we have published a new article: Should I Join This Board? A Director's Risk Assessment Framework.
The article takes you through five areas to assess before accepting a board role:
- Purpose and fit: Does the organisation's purpose align with your values, and can your experience help with the challenges it faces now?
- Financial health: Have you seen enough current financial information to understand the position and spot any warning signs?
- Governance quality: Does the board have the documents, processes and discipline needed to make sound decisions?
- People dynamics: How do the chair, directors and management handle challenge, disagreement and conflicts of interest?
- Personal exposure and capacity: Do you understand the workload, insurance, indemnities, conflicts and access to advice?
Every board role carries risk. Good due diligence helps you see that risk before your name, time and reputation are attached to the organisation.
The full article includes practical questions to ask, documents to request and a simple go, pause or decline framework for making the decision.
Read: Should I Join This Board?
Before your next yes, ask yourself:
Would I be comfortable explaining why I accepted this role if the organisation's position became public tomorrow?
Sometimes a pause gives you the information you need. Sometimes the right answer is no. Both can reflect sound director judgement.
If you know someone considering their first board appointment, please forward this newsletter to them.
Until next time,
The Agile Director
