Back in March of 2024, I was elected as the employee member of the Board of Directors (BoD) of F-Secure, for a one-year tenure. For this election, 16 colleagues (myself included) put down their names as candidates.
I asked all my fellow candidates a series of questions earlier this year and all the answers I received reflect the fact that putting one’s name in the election hat was a well-considered decision for all the candidates and that, unsurprisingly, they all are interested in participating in BoD work for multiple great reasons.
???? ? One question I asked was “What made you put your name in the Fellow Board member election hat?” Reading through all answers, there are three emergent trends:
1?? Sheer curiosity in the reasons and mechanics of Board work: how it happens and why it happens and what forms it takes in practice. Essentially, learning what is the level of involvement the Board has in day-to-day issues and happenings (little to none) vs. what support the Board provides on big long-term company strategy questions (advice, decisions, steering, questions, validation - many things!). And via this, to get more experience on BoD work itself, which some candidates stated as something they want to pursue more in the future.
2?? Genuine willingness and want (“a burning desire”, as one candidate described it!) to be able to help the company steer itself correctly through big or hard or complex decisions - to quote a candidate, “I wanted to make a bigger contribution to F-Secure’s success”. Indeed, one of the jobs of the employee board member is to provide views and details and illuminate unseen potential as well as complexities within the company that are not visible to other Board members - to provide a better resolution picture of the company.
3?? The most surprising/insightful motivation was that by standing up for election the candidates saw it as supporting a behaviour (having employee members of the Board) they find empowering and attractive in their workplace. To quote a response, to be a candidate is to take part in “developing a culture of gathering input from all corners to guide our decisions”.
For my part, I can say I had all three motivations as well - from curiosity to a desire to help to public support of a good company practice. But to actually realize all those aspirations in actual Board work, the key has been really the Board of Directors itself and how it works: I can say I have felt very included by the rest of the Board from the start, as well as well-informed of what I’m supposed to do and when and most importantly why. It is very clear the employee member of the Board is not just a token nod towards Nordic ideals of equality but instead, a very useful and practical part of how the Board of Directors of F-Secure works.
