What happens when I become a board member?

Two things: firstly, you’ve reached a fantastic career milestone, and secondly, you’ve taken on significant responsibility. 

If you’ve just been appointed a director for the first time, congratulations! It’s a feat that carries a lot of recognition for your skills and career so far. 

But what happens next? What do people expect from you, and what role will you play in the organisation you’re working with?

Here are the basics?

You must help make your business’s most significant and challenging decisions. 

Alongside your fellow directors, you’ll be the crucial link between executives, corporate strategy, and the shareholders you will ultimately represent whenever you act on the company’s behalf. 

On principle, your role is defined by your duty of care (to the company and its assets), duty of loyalty (to the organisation and those who own it), and duty of obedience (to its own laws and those of its jurisdiction). 

When you act as a director, always keep the above in mind. 

If you wondering “what happens when I become a board member” in a practical sense – the short answer is your role will be pretty diverse. Specialised training in corporate governance will tell you all you need to know. Why not consider taking a course?

What should I focus on in my first week as a board member?

Two things: integration and logistics. You need to solidify yourself as a new team member while ensuring the practicalities are quickly resolved. 

This means:

• Knowing your role. Are you an executive or non-executive director? Have you been given a board pack? What’s inside it?
• Knowing your colleagues. Have you networked with them before or arranged an introduction meeting?
• Knowing your skills. What expertise are you going to bring to the board?

• Studying board packs. These are the essential sources of info ahead of meetings.
• Ensuring orientation meets your expectations. If you don’t know something afterwards, ask. 
• Joining board committees, where your expertise can stand out.

Most importantly, they expect you to do more than just show up. 

In the past, the was a culture among directors to simply “say yes and go home”, acting as little more than a rubber-stamp body for CEOs to boss around. 

Those days are ending. Shareholders and governments now expect boards to be active players in a company’s governance. 

At its heart, this means that you use the expertise and inquisitiveness that won you the role in the first place. You should challenge strategy, engage in debate, and explore new ideas no matter what is on the meeting agenda. 

This is particularly important if you’re a non-executive director because you have an independent, learned mindset that can provide valuable feedback when needed.