Traditionally boards looked like the picture above

And so desired qualities and traits were based on making boards look like the picture above.

I am an advocate for challenging the norm to get different results, and part of growth and scale is getting the right board to support your company going forward. So I dug out this article from 2014 ( who even remembers 2014 given the last couple of years!!) because it very much aligns with what I feel a company needs their board to be, today, to navigate the shifting sands of the current economic climate. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanstolle/2014/06/19/what-makes-a-great-board-member-you-really-need-to-get-this-right/

My favourite trait is courage - courage of convictions because that is what a board member is essentially brought in to do; provide the directors with the courage to go forward and achieve those big hairy ambitious, changing-the-world-type goals and find the resource to do it. Courage that it will all be ok. Courage that with laser focus and persistence your company will succeed.

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