What Makes a Successful Board Member

A board member who is successful is one who takes their role seriously and contributes to the organization in an effective way. They need to be able to take difficult decisions, think strategically and to keep the big vision in mind while providing their own perspective based on their personal experiences. A competent board of directors will help the company achieve its goals and objectives by providing guidance and supervision. They will be driven to see the business flourish and will not be afraid to share their opinions.

While having a wealth of connections is crucial but organizations should focus on attracting those who are deeply about the cause and are willing to commit their time. It’s also crucial to ensure your board members possess the right skill set. According to Institutional Shareholder Services, the boards of Enron, Kmart, and the troubled retailer Warnaco all had board members with a variety of financial competencies and expertise–including former Stanford deans who were accounting professors as well as a prominent Asian financier and the former www.boardcontest.com/what-is-an-advisory-board-and-does-your-organization-need-one/ head of the U.S. government’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Yet these credentials weren’t enough to keep the companies from going under.

Participation in board meetings is often regarded as an indication of a responsible member. But as Stanford GSB adjunct professor of corporate governance Nell Minow points out, this measure alone doesn’t distinguish boards that are either good or bad. In fact attendance records for boards of GE (which was on Fortune’s 2001 list of the most admired companies) and WorldCom reveal little distinction.