This article was originally published in Boardroom Insider | September 2023 | By Ralph Ward. Rochelle Campbell was quoted in this piece.
5 Ways Board Searches Have Changed
The decade of the 2020s is maybe a third over, but we’ve already seen at least ten years
worth of change in business, society, politics, work and all the other elements of our worlds
and our lives. One example — in 2018, I published my latest book, the Board Seekers Guide.
But the processes, best practices (and worst practices) for gaining a board seat have shifted a
lot over the past five years. Here are some examples.
▪ Board diversity has accelerated from being important to being a must, especially for larger,
international companies. Quotas for gender and ethnic diversity on boards have solidified in
much of Europe and Asia. Legal challenges have set back formal quotas in the US, but
informal bolstering of boards with more women, ethnic diversity, and younger members has surged. This opens opportunities for fresh demographics, but also speeds up the pace of learning and career
development you’ll need to be board ready. Older, white males already had plenty of boardroom exposure by
the time they made it, but if you’re a younger Ms. Exec, you’ll need to seek out this seasoning earlier.
Volunteer for company board support roles, and seek non-profit board gigs
▪ The long Covid lockdowns, and continuing remote work have hit many of the networking opportunities
board wannabes enjoyed a decade ago. “Covid changed things,” says Rochelle Campbell, CEO of board
recruiter Leadership Elevated. “We may be back in person now, but good networking takes time, even years.”
Sabine Dembkowski, managing partner at the Better Boards advisory firm in the UK, notes “nothing beats
connections, and if you didn’t keep your networks alive, that harms your chances of finding a board seat.”
Make a conscious effort to revitalize your personal networking with a board angle in mind, and don’t just “hop
on a Zoom call” if you can meet for a cup of coffee.
▪ The rule that a great majority of board seats are filled via social networking is still true, but the percentage
going through search firms continues to rise. The number of boutique headhunters specializing in board work,
and specialty board practices at the big search firms is also growing. Much of this is driven by diversity
demands, which means that female or minority board wannabes should assure their headhunter contacts are
aware of their board interest and skill (and that you add the specialty board headhunters to your network).
▪ I wrote about the value of LinkedIn and other social media in my 2018 book, but today, your digital
footprint – especially on LinkedIn – has become your de facto calling card. A few years ago, no one except
celebs or CEOs would hire a digital branding consultant. Now, anyone with a rising career (or who wants it to
rise) is smart to tap some professional advice on assessing and improving your online footprint. This can help
fine-tune and boost the elements that buff your “strong board candidate” image. “It’s not necessarily the
number of ‘likes’ you have, but showing your successes and personal impact,” says Dembkowski. ALSO – the
potential of your online trail to harm your board seeking efforts has amplified over the past few years. If a
search of your name brings up an industry chat site where former employees bitched about you a few years
back, assume any board vetter is going to find it too.
▪ Rochelle Campbell shares an added LinkedIn tip for board wannabes – “never put that you are ‘Looking for
a board role’ in your bio. It takes a board role to get a board role, and if you’re telling me you’re open, you’re
saying that you don’t know the rules.”
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