The Board Directorship Quest, for Women

Last night I was invited to join the Washington Technology Industry Association's new "community" -- Executive Women in Technology. The inaugural speaker was Debbie Bevier, Chairman, Coinstar, and Director, F5 Networks, who shared her overall career trajectory to becoming a go-to board director in the Seattle area.

What began as a traditional banking career in branch offices, changed dramatically when Debbie was selected to move to her organization's holding company as part of their new diversity initiative in the mid-80's. That is, get more women on the corporate ladder! What seemed initially like a big risk, and departure from customer work that she loved, she quickly was in position to be selected for even greater challenges and the highest level promotions.

As part of her journey, she moved to Seattle and into various CEO roles - and integrated solidly into the community. It was these types of relationships that led to her first board position, and those that followed. Close professional network contacts were the key to Debbie landing board roles; in effect, these contacts became the career sponsors who championed her over time.

Today, Debbie is a full-time director who celebrates life and friends - and thoroughly embraces the flexibility that board director work offers. She's been able to better care for an ailing parent, manage some key personal issues, and still be deeply involved in the companies she helps govern.

She counseled the group to think about why you would want to be a board director, as many times you simply don't know what you are getting into. The job scope requires deep attention to a myriad of details, as well as solid perseverance to get through a wide array of potential political issues. Boards today are dealing with more and more complex challenges in terms of strategic planning, corporate performance, risk and crisis oversight, executive talent development, and CEO succession. In fact, the average board director spends 230 hours/year in role, but that too is highly dependent on the board and issues at hand - it could be a lot more.

So, think about it - is board directorship a responsibility you really want to assume? 
From the perspective of board selection committees, they look for candidates that embody multiple attributes in these priority areas:

1. Corporate leadership experience
2. Specific industry experience
3. Financial acumen
4. Strategy development track record
5. Global expansion experience
6. Risk management

While there is great interest on the part of women to have significant board roles, as Meg Whitman most recently noted "progress in the boardroom has flattened for women." The answers why aren't clear, so clearly this type of dialogue and community effort needs to continue.