Member-only story
My checklist prior to accepting a Board role
Being on the board of a company is very serious business in terms of the accountability, responsibility and (personal) liability that is involved for directors. There are also different complexities depending on the size of the organisation and industry or sector.
I’ve personally found it quite opaque in terms of information and where to start so thought I’d share what I have found over the years to be areas to look out for.
This my checklist for due diligence when I’m exploring opportunities for board and advisory board roles. I’ve broken it up into broad themes and it’s by no means an exhaustive list! It has been quite helpful so far to help me adopt a framework to filter and delve further when approached.
But first a few things to take note before going through the checklist:
- For me, an alignment of values is the most important aspect. If you’re going to take on this level of accountability and responsibility, values have to be at the core of the decision to say yes.
- An organisation doesn’t necessarily have to tick every single item — as it would of course depend on the maturity and type of organisation (eg. not-for-profit, startup). However if there are areas missing or currently in progress, ideally there should be a clear pathway and timeline to when and where…
