For many longtime executives finishing their full-time careers, a logical next step is leading on corporate and non-profit boards of directors.
If you’re considering this path, you likely already have deep knowledge of your industry and of governance. You have decades of experience providing teams with the support and guidance they need to perform at their best.
However, leading in the boardroom comes with very different expectations and challenges from management in the C-suite, so it’s vital to adjust your approach accordingly. Three principles should guide how you maximize your contributions as a board officer or chair.
Authors Anthony Hesketh, Jo Sellwood-Taylor, and Sharon Mullen recently outlined several forms of intelligence that are critical to making your presence count on a board:
Before stepping into a board leadership role, you need to understand precisely what you bring to the table and how your perspective aligns with an organization’s overall mission. Extensive self-reflection gives you the foundation to make a difference and feel personally fulfilled. By defining your own skills and values, you can prepare to guide a nonprofit or business toward long-term success.
Developing as a board leader often begins with chairing a committee, and your specific background and interests could help you decide what committee appointment would be most worthwhile. For example:
Board leadership offers avenues for shaping the big picture of an organization’s strategic goals and practices. That’s both an invaluable opportunity to make meaningful change and a weighty responsibility. It’s vital to first learn as much as you can about the problems that you hope to address.
One way to prepare to embark on a new path of impact is by immersing yourself in an educational environment that will expose you to diverse perspectives and the latest research in the areas that interest you. The University of Chicago Leadership and Society Initiative offers access to the expertise and resources you’ll need to engage with crucial societal problems and craft a roadmap for your future.
For Amaechi Ndili, the CEO and executive chairman of CarePay Nigeria and a current LSI Fellow, the LSI learning experience was a “revelation.”
“The LSI program is an amazing place to go much deeper into understanding some of the issues of today,” Amaechi said. “To interrogate those issues in a deep and meaningful way and to come up with solutions in an environment that is collaborative and positive and the company of amazing Fellows and under the guidance of amazing faculty, coaches, and advisors.”
LSI offers two pathways, each designed for accomplished leaders approaching or entering a vibrant next chapter focused on purposeful impact and personal enrichment.
The Imagine Pathway, a curated experience, provides reflective moments of pause for Fellows who are still engaged in day-to-day responsibilities and want to begin envisioning what’s next.
The Design Pathway, an expansive and customizable experience, welcomes Fellows who are ready to activate their next chapter of meaning to a transformative immersion in UChicago’s atmosphere of critical inquiry, free expression, and breakthrough ideas.
The University of Chicago Leadership and Society Initiative (LSI) supports accomplished leaders in successfully transitioning from their longstanding careers toward purposeful next chapters. LSI Fellows immerse themselves in UChicago’s unparalleled environment of big ideas and multigenerational dialogue, gaining frameworks for learning from their past and planning for their futures.
Through LSI’s rigorous and customizable curriculum, Fellows engage with eminent faculty and expert practitioners to explore how their next chapter can be meaningful for them and for society. This fellowship is a commitment to personal growth, enduring wellness, and dynamic engagement with pressing societal issues.
Contact us to learn more about LSI or submit your candidacy to be considered for our upcoming cohort.
At the center of the Design Pathway is a liberal arts curriculum that encourages Fellows to see beyond conventional approaches, engage diverse viewpoints, and develop solutions informed by both reflection and action.
A conversation on purpose, intellectual vitality, and continuing the work of lifelong learning at the University of Chicago Graham School.
Activate Fellow Constance Filling reflects on learning, leadership, and the power of bringing people together.