What is a busy director?

Busy directors are common because the number of available board seats in an industry often outweighs the number of ideal candidates. 

To attract the best people, companies will often consent to take on directors who already hold seats on other boards. 

Conflict of interest issues aside, busy directors can be beneficial and don’t automatically mean there will be problems with capacity. However, that does not guarantee that busy directors will always mean smooth sailing.

It is a person who sits on multiple boards. Increasingly, experts cite three as the minimum number of directorships a person should have before classing them “busy”. 

A closely related term is “busy board”.

It’s a board with multiple busy directors. Usually, the busy directors are independent, meaning they have fewer day-to-day ties to the organisation and are free to take up positions elsewhere.

That depends on their performance, input, and capacity. Ultimately, fellow directors and senior management will have the best idea of whether one of their busy directors brings more problems than benefits. 

How do you make that decision? You start by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of busy directors and see how yours fits on those lists.

• They are likely successful. Busy directors are busy for a reason. If multiple companies want to work with them, they will likely have a proven track record and desirable expertise. 
• They have a broad perspective. Every boardroom environment is different. Busy directors know this and let it shape their approach to teamwork. Running multiple companies means a director gets a clearer picture of the right boardroom atmosphere. 
• They have a more extensive network. Generally speaking, in-demand directors have a network of business professionals that both fuels and benefits from their success. Networks, when used correctly, are extremely helpful.

One word: overboarding. 

You might have heard the term already; it describes situations where directors simultaneously sit on too many boards. In the past, five or six boards were the maximum. Nowadays, many experts consider four boards to be enough. 

You’ll likely notice the tight margins that number creates: directors are considered “busy” as soon as they get to three boards, and if they go up just one more, a common rule of thumb says they’re in trouble.

It stretches directors too thin. They don’t have enough time for the roles they’ve signed up for, fall short of expectations, and don’t provide the value for the company that shareholders were promised. 

Major investors increasingly have policies to cover these scenarios, meaning they’ll likely rescind support for directors whose responsibilities they feel are too heavy.

Ensure your company has a policy and robust monitoring systems in place. 

Monitoring, especially, is essential. It allows you to generate consistent reporting on how busy directors engage with board business, whether they use the skills they were selected for, and whether any other roles have negatively impacted their performance.