Board Director Branding & Readiness

I’m Jared Redick, and in 2010, longtime clients began asking if I could write a board resume, board bio, and LinkedIn profile as they retired or approached the most senior levels or their career.

The question arose from another all-too-common question board seekers get when plumbing their network for potential board roles: “Sure, send me your resume.” Or sometimes it’s, “Sure, send me your board bio.”

More than 70% of my client load was already in the C-suite, but crafting a board portfolio required me to reach back into my own early career in retained executive search. I also had the small benefit of having served as a nonprofit board director, myself, and I’d been part of the entity formation, strategic planning, board recruitment and development, and governance process necessary to fulfill my clients’ request.

Since then, I’ve developed several-hundred board portfolios for clients and I’ve noticed a trend in my sample set: Most senior executives haven’t entertained the implications of board service. They simply know they want to do it.

There’s a lot more to board directorships than meets the eye.

Before sitting down to create your board materials — to express the value you bring to a board search and to a company and its board of directors — it’s important to take stock of why, how, and when you want to move into a search for a board role. I say search because you want to take the same strategic approach that a search firm does, just in reverse.

In my work with all clients, let alone board directors, we interrogate a great many questions. Following is a short-form summary, followed by a list of essential questions I lead clients through to develop a fully branded board portfolio.

Senior executives face a complex dilemma as they contemplate a career transition in board service. On one hand, board service offers a chance for personal and professional growth, allowing top performers to leverage their skill set in new ways, gain exposure to varied governance processes, and expand their network. In some cases, companies have begun to recognize the value of their senior leaders serving on other companies' boards. Also, the push for increased diversity in the background of directors has slightly increased board turnover, creating more room for potential candidates.

That said, the path to corporate directorship is often mysterious and intimidating. They must carefully evaluate whether they can successfully transition from being an operator to an advisor, as the board's role is to oversee and guide management rather than run the company day-to-day. This shift requires a different mindset and skill set, including the ability to ask probing questions without overstepping into management's domain and to influence without direct authority. Further, potential candidates who hold parallel leadership roles in their own companies must consider the time commitment and agility required for board service, which has increased significantly in recent years.

Executives must also weigh the risks and rewards of a board service. A board role can enhance an executive’s professional reputation and provide new insights and experiences, but a board role also comes with potential legal liabilities and increased scrutiny. Today’s board director must carefully assess whether their motivations, skills, and experiences align with the needs of their target boards. Ultimately, the decision to pursue board membership requires a great deal of consideration of one's career goals, personal values, and ability to meaningfully contribute to a company's governance and strategic direction.

Here are a few of the data points we’ll interrogate during the development of your board resume and board bio:

• Define target companies and map them to industry expertise or sector knowledge

• Mind the distinction between board oversight and management roles

• Bring forward governance experience consistent with the needs of a public or private company’s board of directors, including corporate governance leadership, as well as previous service on boards, advisory boards, committees, task forces, specially convened groups, and beyond

• Contextualize experience within the size, market position, growth stage, and international footprint of companies where you’ve worked, or companies you’ve advised

• Emphasize the ability to navigate complex external factors such as economic shifts, industry disruptions, social changes, and significant corporate events (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, restructurings)

• Articulate your experience with complex matters such as board structuring and committees, conflicts of interest, activist defense, and executive misconduct

• Present experience related to executive hiring, compensation, and succession planning

• Showcase experience with business challenges (e.g., digital transformation, cybersecurity, ESG), changes in regulatory frameworks (e.g., Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, PSD2, GDPR), and other emerging trends such as generative AI adoption, geopolitical uncertainties, and evolving stakeholder expectations

• Identify and articulate the specific dimensions of leadership that will add value to a board

• Narrate diversity considerations in terms of skills and background, not just gender and race

• Highlight thought leadership and industry reputation, including presentations, publications, and other thought leadership, as well as nonprofit board service, committee leadership, and professional association memberships

• Condense, elevate, and sometimes reconceive the confidential narrative we developed for your resume and board bio so it’s appropriate for public evaluation

• Develop a algorithm-centric keyword strategy to anticipate the behaviors of recruiters who are searching for ____________

• Establish a tone of voice consistent with your experience and personality, as well as the expectations of your target company

• Use strategic language to map your current activities to your future plans, while maintaining discretion if you’re planning to explore board roles confidentially and need to preserve sensitive professional relationships