What Makes a Successful Board Member

A board member who is successful is one who takes their responsibilities seriously and contributes to the organization in an effective manner. They must be able make difficult decisions, think strategically, and keep www.boardcontest.com/four-tips-to-make-you-a-successful-board-member/ the bigger picture in their mind while bringing the perspective of their personal experience. A good board of directors will aid the organization in achieving its goals and mission by providing direction and supervision. They will be motivated to see the company flourish and will not be afraid to voice their opinions.

While having a large number of connections is important for businesses however, they should focus on recruiting people who are devoted to the cause and willing to dedicate their time. It’s also important to ensure your board members possess the necessary skills. According to Institutional Shareholder Services, the boards of Enron, Kmart, and the ailing retailer Warnaco all had board members who had a wide range of financial skills and expertise, including former Stanford deans who are accounting professors as well as an important Asian financier and the former head of the U.S. government’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Yet these credentials weren’t enough to stop the companies from failing.

Likewise regular attendance at meetings is often considered an indicator of conscientious board members. But as Stanford GSB adjunct professor of corporate governance Nell Minow points out, this alone does not distinguish boards that are either good or bad. The attendance records of the boards of GE and WorldCom (which were both featured on Fortune’s 2001 list as the most admired companies) have little to show.