Eight women who’ve been on boards share how they landed a seat, gained confidence in the role, and found unexpected personal and professional benefits in the work. We hope their perspectives and advice will encourage you to consider trying it yourself some day. Ellen Zane, who runs a Harvard workshop for women interested in board work, gives further insight based on her deep experience as a director for nonprofits and private and public companies.
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Have you ever thought about joining a board?
Research suggests women's presence improves the decisions these groups make and in turn improves financial performance.
Being on a corporate board gives you a say in how the business is run, including how it treats employees and customers.
If you're a senior executive, experience on a public or private company board boosts your CEO eligibility.
If that's a goal of yours, being on a nonprofit board is where many directors get their start or stay.
It's a chance to stretch your mind, your skills, your network.
It's a way to have an impact on your neighborhood or your alma mater or your industry.
But maybe you haven't thought about serving because it sounds like another suck on your time or the benefits aren't clear, or you were waiting for retirement, or you just didn't know enough to dive in, or no one asked you.
Well, let's test those assumptions and fill in some gaps.
Eight women volunteered to tell us how they landed a board seat, gained confidence there, and grew personally and professionally.
I hope their perspectives round out your sense of what the work is and that they inspire you to sooner or later try it for yourself.
And if you're doubting your qualifications, Lani Hollander, one of our volunteers, will tell you, just don't.
I think, especially if you're getting started with a smaller nonprofit board, the main thing that matters really is passion and interest.
Passion and interest is how, in 2019, Lani got invited to join a board.
Although networking was key and getting a master's in nonprofit management must have given her a leg up.
The invitation came from the executive director of a humanitarian organization in Thailand, whom she'd known for several years.
Back in 2015, Lannie worked for a different humanitarian organization, and the two partnered on programming.
They got along so well that after Lanny left that job, they kept in touch through regular calls.