Nurture and support yourself during this time of change as you transition to your first board of director’s seat. You’re going to be a director of a company; you may need more information for this new role or become more current with regulations and governance trends. Commit to investing in your education and growing your knowledge. Education and professionals discussing the topics unique to board governance are available to you from many sources.
There are two basic forms of corporate governance education available:
- Cases studies education
- Education by topic
Some questions to ponder as you select where to invest your corporate governance education dollar:
- Do I need a basic overview of board governance and how a board operates?
- Do I know the differences between for-profit public company board situations and not-for-profit board mechanics?
- What board committees are you best suited to serve: Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee or Compensation Committee?
- What (SEC) government regulations affect these committees? What changes have been made recently in government regulations governing corporations? What changes are being proposed? How will that impact businesses where I am most qualified to serve on the board?
- How much time and money do I want to spend to invest in my future growth and education?
- Is attending a top-tier education institution of importance to me, Harvard University, for example?
Consider how much time and money you want to spend this year on executive education and possibly set aside a budget for corporate governance education. Next, you could search through the different options of governance education offered from large business schools inside major universities, major accounting and consulting firms or professional director organizations.
See some examples:
- Harvard Business School
- The Conference Board
- OnBoard Bootcamps
- Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance, University of Texas at Dallas
- Books such as Inside the Boardroom, How Boards Really Work and The Coming Revolution in Corporate Governance, By Richard Leblanc and James Gillies, 2005, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Consider a multi-year plan:
- Cover basic education for the first investment of your time.
- Consider a business school’s corporate governance education program, which may include case studies.
- After these two foundation building education sessions, supplement and stay current.
- Attend professional, on-going education sessions through a professional group or major service firm.
If you are interested in a seat on a board of directors, read my previous posts, starting with Step 1 of 8, and join us as we continue with Steps 7 and 8 to come.
