CATCHING BOARDROOM EYES

A guide to increasing your visibility – Dr. Muneer Muhamed and Ralph Ward

On average, we receive around 10 calls a week from senior executives across the world asking if any of the companies we work with are looking for directors who can add value to the governance and fiduciary duties of a board.

There are also retired CEOs who desire such roles not only to supplement their incomes but also to make use of their wisdom for the greater good.

Indeed, there are many things you can and must do to make your way onto an enterprise board.

Let’s say you’re working to gain your first seat on a board of directors and making the right moves – e.g. networking, pulling together a specific board vitae, dropping the word with headhunters and so on. However, unless your profile on major social networking sites such as LinkedIn is selling you as a board wannabe, you’re missing out on a massive target group.

Board nominating committees and headhunters are as lazy as the rest of us. The first thing they do to vet a board prospect is Google him or her. And what usually comes up in the search is his or her LinkedIn profile page.

So if that’s going to be your introduction to the boardroom gatekeepers, what should your LinkedIn image be selling?

Here are some thoughts for those of you with board seat dreams.

Start with smart LinkedIn fundamentals such as your background information. Despite the risk of being inundated with spam mail, you should make it easy for headhunters to contact you – so list both your business and personal email addresses.

For the telephone listing, your personal mobile phone number is probably the best. And make sure that people can contact you via the LinkedIn messaging app.

For a really professional job, set up a personal LinkedIn website that pitches your career and ‘boardability’ vitae, and include a link to this in your profile information. Contacts tend to begin on LinkedIn but move off-site quickly.

Ensure that your profile is listed as ‘public,’ and set your communication and connection preferences to ‘everyone.’ Why be on LinkedIn if you’re going to limit who can connect with you?

Then look at what a visitor sees when clicking your profile.

A fully optimised banner and headshot at the top will have you taken seriously from the start. Your company’s logo is an obvious image for the latter – particularly if it’s well known and complements your credentials.

The headline for your profile is limited to 220 characters so make every word count: board, leadership, strategy, audit, finance, P&L (profit and loss) and M&A (mergers and acquisitions) are a few buzzwords that will catch boardroom eyes. And there are many online guides for scripting your header. Know the keywords that describe your board skills and use them liberally.

Assume that a board recruiter has one second to scan your LinkedIn headline… will it tell the story you want?

Your LinkedIn ‘About’ block goes into more depth but don’t overload it. Job titles and histories don’t belong here (and don’t list what you’re passionate about). It is better not to repeat the keywords used in your headline.

What did you do in your various governance roles? What specifics (IPOs, turnarounds, succession planning, budgeting, product launches, merger integration, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), legal work and so on) were involved? Which industries and sectors are on your vitae – including private equity, venture capital and investments? P&L, hands-on management or company growth?

Think about your experience keywords and deploy them for board smart search engine optimisation (SEO).

Now that your LinkedIn page supports a board member search, keep it active. Identify companies, sectors and contacts connected to the director role you envision. Follow them and seek connections with interesting people.

Begin with supporters, colleagues and mentors you know – people who you won’t feel awkward reaching out to. Then check who is on their LinkedIn networks. Do you share a common thread with them such as career, school or experience?

Avoid churning out connection requests wholesale; focus on people with shared interests, in related fields and (in this case) holding corporate board positions.

Study the LinkedIn pages of people who are currently in the career and board roles you’re aiming for. What do they post? Who are they linked to? What LinkedIn groups do they frequent? You will find many valuable models.

And check the keywords they use. Hashtags such as #governance, #corpgov, #boardsofdirectors and #boardeffectiveness are some to investigate and use.

No one should visit your website and see a note that you ‘haven’t posted lately.’ Discipline yourself to add regular comments.

Try the three step approach – first, like or share interesting, career and board related items. Next, make intelligent comments on these posts and add your own perspective. Finally, offer your insights. Build on the credibility of others, then wing it on your own.