3 TIPS ON BECOMING A NED (from a new NED!)

In December last year I joined The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) board alongside a set of brilliant individuals — Audrey Clavedon , David Parry , Gurjinder Dhaliwal and Steven Haines .?

This is my first board role and, as a new Non-Executive Director (NED), I wanted to share my journey and a few tips on how I landed here for those of you aspiring to embark on a board-level path now or in the future. The below is rather a long read, but I hope it's helpful!

1) Know your ‘why’ and apply when the time is right

Figuring out why you want to become a board member and how to do it are the two main questions to consider as you set out on this journey and continue to go through it. The 'why' is for you to decide and the 'how' is what I hope to shed light on with this post.

Being a board member requires substantial experience; one must be at a point where they can add value to the strategic development of an organisation or company.? It also requires a substantial amount of time, which is not to be underestimated, so timing is key. I started to feel ready(ish) for a board role at the end of 2017 after almost two years of sitting in at least 12 board meetings as Deputy Director of the Royal African Society, but it wasn’t until early 2023 that I had the time, bandwidth and clear desire to actively pursue board opportunities.

In those five years, I only applied for three trustee roles, and only after my name had been put forward and I was encouraged to throw my hat in the ring. I didn’t get to the interview stage with any of these three applications, but I learnt from working on them and having conversations with the search firms and the organisations involved. In the summer of 2022 I was also approached by Nurole about a pro bono (i.e. unpaid) board role, but I was too busy to consider it, so I didn’t go for it.?

Last year I became more intentional about embarking on a board-level path after reconnecting with Nzube Ufodike and joining the committee of the IoD Emerging NEDs Special Interest Group — more on that below — and I defined my 'why': I wanted to support organisations that were doing work I felt passionate about and were aligned with my core values. I then applied for two roles I felt excited about towards the end of the year and I landed one of them :)?

Now some of you might be asking — how will I know when I'm ready? The answer is simple: you will feel confident about your wealth of experience and what you can bring to the table and opportunities will start presenting themselves too. If you don’t feel fully ready like I did back in 2017, then the next step would be to develop yourself and your skillset, as well as your network, so you can gain more confidence and become board-ready. This brings me to my next point.

2) Develop yourself and grow your network?

In order to meaningfully contribute to a board, one must have an understanding of charity or corporate governance and be able to read a set of accounts as a minimum. It’s also essential to understand the main skills needed within a board. Finance, legal, HR, fundraising and marketing are some of the main functional skills required and there will also be a need for industry expertise relating to the sector an organisation/company operates in.?

As someone who has primarily worked in the non-profit, cultural and social impact sector, I had a good understanding of charity governance and boards, but not so much of corporate governance and boards. This is something I have been learning about through my membership of the Institute of Directors (IoD) and my work with the Emerging NEDs, as well as through other platforms and networks I joined in 2023 (see next paragraph). I still have a long way to go, but I feel much more clued up than I did six months ago.

In addition to joining the IoD in June last year, I reached out to a number of search firms — namely Nurole , Inclusive Boards and Minerva — so I could be added to their talent pools. I also connected with Diversifying Group and attended a masterclass they delivered organised by GTA Black Women In Tech , entitled "Getting on a Board: Securing Your NED Role", which you can check out here .

During Nurole's introductory session, which I attended in August last year, I came to know about the 'NED Archetypes' of commercial boards, the difference between advisory vs fiduciary roles and I got lots of tips on how to stand out when applying for board roles. The main point that stuck with me from the session was that competition for board roles is fierce, thus rejection is an inevitable part of the process (sage advice for life generally, I thought!). The other main takeaway was that most commercial board roles are filled through a closed hiring process, hence the importance of having a solid and broad network.?

I am wired for connection and I place a lot of importance and care in my personal and professional relationships. As a result, I have a great network of people that I enjoy supporting and feel supported by. It was my trusted contacts who first referred me to board roles and encouraged me to apply between 2017-2021. I believe this will happen organically to you too, if you’ve amassed sufficient professional experience and if you’re frequently connecting with the right people in a mutually-beneficial way.?

For example, in January this year I arranged a Zoom coffee chat with Daniel Doherty , a former Facebook/Meta colleague who put me on to Simon Bergenroth , founder of 3Hats. A couple of weeks later, Simon delivered a LinkedIn Live on "Winning a Board Seat in 2024", which I attended and I found quite informative (you can watch back the recording here ). This is how many new relationships and opportunities come up for me, helping to shape my path.?

There are also tons of formal programmes and certifications which one can do, but I didn't take any, so I can't make any recommendations on those. However, if you're interested in achieving a certification, I'd encourage you to do your research on the options available and then speaking to people who have gone through the courses to gauge which one will be the best fit for you.?

3) Know the value you bring and find your match?

Once you have clarity on your 'why' and have become 'board-ready', the next step is to start applying for roles that are a match for your skillset, interests and values. My advice for this stage of the journey is to be selective, but stay open — or to "dream big, but start small" as Simon Bergenroth put it in one of his posts .?

It's important to have a vision for the type of organisation/company we want to become a board member of, but we must also stay open to the opportunities that may come our way, which may help to set us up to land our ideal board role in the future. As a general rule, most people start with pro bono board roles, which are generally less competitive, and then they work their way up to paid ones. I wasn't particularly looking to land a paid role, but the two opportunities I went for happened to be modestly remunerated NED roles, so that was a plus for me. For those of you wondering — I found the first role I applied for in 2023 via the Nurole platform and the TSIP opportunity I saw here on LinkedIn, so it was an open application process.?

When applying for roles, my advice would be to do your research on the current board and see where you could add value. Do you have functional, industry or subject knowledge expertise that the organisation/company is looking for? Are there other skills you have, which are currently missing in the board? Nurole has this handy guide on what constitutes a good board role application, which I encourage you to read too.

When I applied for the two NED roles last year, I anchored on my shared values with the organisations, my success in improving the governance of the Royal African Society and my lived and learned experiences. I was particularly excited about TSIP as I felt the board would be welcoming of someone like me — the Chair was/is a young Black woman and the outgoing NEDs came from a range of backgrounds — and I was really inspired by its vision and mission.

When I interviewed for TSIP, I was feeling pretty exhausted after a draining week, so I focused on being centred and giving it my best. I offered my embodiment coaching training as my USP, as well as doubling down on what I had expressed in my application letter. After the interview, I felt I didn't answer a couple of questions as well as I could have, so I followed up with an email expanding on my answers and fortunately my additional effort was valued and I was accepted onto the board :)

That’s my NED journey (so far) in a nutshell – how I found my why and how I knew when I was ready. I hope the above has been informative and perhaps also inspiring for those of you who may not have considered a board role before. If you feel compelled to learn more about embarking on a board-level path, please do follow the new IoD Emerging NEDs LinkedIn page for more news and tips.?

#NED #Trustee #TSIP #InstituteOfDirectors #EmergingNEDs #Boards #BoardDiversity #ProfessionalDevelopment #CareerProgression #Growth #Leadership #Networking?