ith 332 million users and two people joining a second, LinkedIn is the top-of-mind network for professionals looking to advance their careers. LinkedIn offers five significant opportunities to expand your network that save time and escalate your visibility – marketing, branding, networking, communicating and researching people. Below are three areas to focus your efforts:

Compose: Use the tools LinkedIn provides to share your expertise. For written work, use the Long-form Post feature and start discussions in groups with board-level discussions. To showcase your materials on your profile, use the LinkedIn Professional Portfolio capabilities to upload media or point to websites that include:

• Examples of your work
• Written or video testimonials
• Presentations you have made

Connect: Add connections consistently and strategically. Target the people you want to connect with and the groups you want to join. LinkedIn now limits the number of searches you can do each month so be thoughtful by using key words such as board of directors, independent directors and CEO. (As of the writing of this post, the number of searches allowed has not been disclosed).

Consistency: Consistency is one of the cornerstones of a successful marketing strategy on LinkedIn. By coordinating your efforts, you can amplify your message and reach a much larger audience. This can be done by using the appropriate keywords in your written material and branding statements that are in keeping with your board-level value proposition. You can also leverage group activities by posting and commenting within your brand.

Interested in more information?  “Edge Up YOUR LinkedIn Presence to Gain That Corporate Board Seat.” http://women2boards.com/webinars/linkedingainboardseat/

A great resource for director candidates is an ebook: Becoming a Public Company Director: Social Media Strategies.

Tracy E. Houston, M.A. is the President of Board Resources Services, LLC. She is a refined specialist in board consulting and executive coaching with a heartfelt passion for rethinking performance, teams, and the boardroom. With a focus on leadership, strategy, and risk management, she consults primarily with directors, presidents, and senior officers to provide input on high level, sensitive, and complex issues. Sometimes called the Chief Potential Officer, Tracy has a background that includes sitting on a number of boards, board consulting, and coaching for potential. She develops unique insights into the vital role of human interaction and the inevitable fusion between barriers to growth and success. Extensively published, Tracy has written hundreds of blogs that are featured on numerous award-winning websites and has a monthly board column hosted by ColoradoBiz Magazine. She is the creator of the Board Guru™ eBooks –a corporate governance leadership series. 

Her company, Board Resource Services, has a website at www.eboardmember.com and www.eboardguru.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter @BoardGuru. Headquartered in the Denver, Colorado area, Tracy is an avid hiker.
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For a complimentary 1-hour consultation, email: [email protected]

1. Tie your strengths to accomplishments. First prioritize your strengths in relationship to a board seat. Then, show progress over your career of how you matured in the areas that are part of your board-level value proposition.
2. Get recommendations that speak to your strengths. Leverage the experience of top-level executives to enhance your network. If you presented to boards or worked with board committees, this is the very best place to ask for a recommendation.
3. List your promotions. Throughout your career you have moved up the ladder. Highlight this with bullets in each position. This should also include your non-profit work.
4. Use keywords in the title line. You are allowed 100 characters in your experience titles. Use all the space by adding keywords. For a CIO you might list: CIO, Technology Strategist and CEO Advisor.
5. Define and use keywords. Use keywords from your board-level value proposition. Be sure to use your most important keywords numerous times. This will optimize your chances to be found when searches are done.

Interested in more information? Join us Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. PT, for an in-depth webinar titled “Edge Up YOUR LinkedIn Presence to Gain That Corporate Board Seat.” Register here: http://women2boards.com/webinars/linkedingainboardseat/
A great resource for director candidates is an ebook: Becoming a Public Company Director: Social Media Strategies (Amazon, Barnes, iBookstore $9.99).

           Consultant to Boards, Author of Board Guru™ eBook Series and Previous Sitting Director
                                                   – Triple Crown Value Proposition

Tracy E. Houston, M.A. is the President of Board Resources Services, LLC. She is a refined specialist in board consulting and executive coaching with a heartfelt passion for rethinking performance, teams, and the boardroom. With a focus on leadership, strategy, and risk management, she consults primarily with directors, presidents, and senior officers to provide input on high level, sensitive, and complex issues. Sometimes called the Chief Potential Officer, Tracy has a background that includes sitting on a number of boards, board consulting, and coaching for potential. She develops unique insights into the vital role of human interaction and the inevitable fusion between barriers to growth and success. Extensively published, Tracy has written hundreds of blogs that are featured on numerous award-winning websites and has a monthly board column hosted by ColoradoBiz Magazine. She is the creator of the Board Guru™ eBooks –a corporate governance leadership series.

Her company, Board Resource Services, has a website at www.eboardmember.com and www.eboardguru.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter @BoardGuru. Headquartered in the Denver, Colorado area, Tracy is an avid hiker.
​
For a complimentary 1-hour consultation, email: [email protected]

                    Below are a few resources to gain insights into bank boardroom trends.

• Key Considerations for Building Successful Bank Board
• Bank Boards are Set to Undergo Further Transformation – PDF
• Bank Board Risk Governance
• Bank Board Oversight: The Case for a Separate Risk Committee
• Board Governance: Higher Expectations, Better Practices? – PDF
• Is the Bar Too Low to Join a Bank Board in the U.S.? – video
• Regulators Intensify Scrutiny of Bank Boards

 
                                            Ready to optimize your efforts to gain a board seat?
                                            Schedule a complimentary introductory consultation.
 
                                             Start your journey to the boardroom today!
                                           [email protected] | www.eboardmember.com
 
               Consultant to Boards, Author of Board Guru™ eBook Series and Previous Sitting Director
                                                          – Triple Crown Value Proposition

Tracy E. Houston, M.A. is the President of Board Resources Services, LLC. She is a refined specialist in board consulting and executive coaching with a heartfelt passion for rethinking performance, teams, and the boardroom. With a focus on leadership, strategy, and risk management, she consults primarily with directors, presidents, and senior officers to provide input on high level, sensitive, and complex issues. Sometimes called the Chief Potential Officer, Tracy has a background that includes sitting on a number of boards, board consulting, and coaching for potential. She develops unique insights into the vital role of human interaction and the inevitable fusion between barriers to growth and success. Extensively published, Tracy has written hundreds of blogs that are featured on numerous award-winning websites and has a monthly board column hosted by ColoradoBiz Magazine. She is the creator of the Board Guru™ eBooks - a corporate governance leadership series.

For many years the public company boardroom was best described as staid. The factors that
created this reflected the former business environment that was not faced with the amount of
disruptive changes, regulation, and shareholder activism companies face in the 21st century.
Today, we are seeing a number of changes, including more rigorous director selection, and the
director who is past his or her sell-by date will not be placed on a board. As corporate boards
become modern and progressive they are open to more diverse sources of director candidates.
This change translates into a window of opportunity for those seeking to get on a board,
ultimately making the candidate selection process increasingly competitive. The savvy board
candidate must know exactly how he or she will add value to a board and present that at the
interviews in a clear, concise manner. To highlight the importance of this, ask yourself this
question: If you can’t ace the interview, how will the directors feel about having you on the
board? You may very well be board ready and qualified to be on the board, but not firing on all
cylinders during the interview will diminish your chances of gaining a board seat. First
impressions count immensely!

Being an outstanding candidate in a director interview takes dedicated work and effort, and
comes with a fair amount of stress. For some, the interview and selection process can be
categorically intimidating. Think about preparing for a board interview in the same way you
would for a TED Talk. If you don’t know your stuff cold, it will be the kiss of death. It is
imperative that the candidate have a relevance telescope that highlights what really matters and
creates a successful director interview presence.

Below are a few “ insider” tips that make for some of the best communication and deadliest mistakes.

Do present well-constructed ideas of how you would add value to the board using phrases like, “I may be able to help here,” or “You might consider the idea of my expertise on the board in this way.”
Don’t lecture and make outright statements about how you think the board should operate.

Do maintain a balance of exchange in the interviews.
Don’t talk excessively or to the point you are dominating the conversation, unless asked.

Do state a few highpoints about the company that made an impression on you.
Don’t lavish too much praise about the company.

Do draw on specific, related experience working on other boards and committees.
Don’t overstate the value of your work on non-profit boards.
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Do demonstrate your willingness and readiness for the pressures of hard work.
Don’t overstate the operational role, as the board has a tone and tenure that is unique.

Interviewing for a board seat is like no other interview. I have observed both “bests and blunders” in many candidate interviews. Without fail, this high-level interview brings to light behavior under the influence of stress. At the time of this writing, there are few publications, if any, that address the needs of director candidates in an interview process. My new eBook Becoming a Public Company Director: Interview Strategies offers key insights that can be applied to the director search interview process.