On March 14th, 2013, the Board Chairman informed members at the board assembly that one of the directors had resigned mentioning busy and conflicting schedules. the primary reaction from one of the directors turned into “appropriate riddance!” the majority of the directors shared comparable sentiments.
Some people are sick. They resign expected to be begged to stay, not knowing that peers and other colleagues alike are tired of their presence. You must continuously reflect on the value you add and whether it meets expectations especially of the appointing authority and your close peers.
Key questions to continuously ask yourself are:
- How dynamic and impactful are you on the board? You need to manage board dynamics so that you impact not only fellow board members but the organization in terms of identifying an opportunity and helping the company tap into them?
- What will your fellow board members say about you at your last board meeting when your term is ending? What impact do you want to leave on the board you serve?
- What are the top 3 expectations of the shareholder or appointing authority?
- How do you monitor the achievement of the roles? Which tool do you use?
- What critical board function/s do you champion so that you make an impact on the board?
Before you accept any board appointment or senior role, seek to understand what the appointing authority expects you to bring to the table, how success will look like and how it will be measured. And what the good results will mean both to you and the appointing authority.
The words of my late grandfather always ring louder: “if you have a friend and you don’t know how they benefit from you, run away.” Avoid serving on roles for which you don’t know what they expect of you.
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, 2021. All rights reserved.
