As Founder & CEO of Women Get On Board, I spoke with @ Alexander Lowry of Boardroom Bound on Why Women are Essential to the Boardroom. After spending several years as the only female board member in the room, I founded a social purpose company to get more women on corporate boards. But how do you start your journey to get board-ready so you can compete for a corporate board seat? Listen to the full podcast now to find out!
It still surprises me that there has been little change in corporate Canada to add more women to TSX listed boards. “Either corporate Canada changes its culture, or it’ll have to justify to shareholders why it’s deliberately weakening its own bottom line.” Jennifer Stewart & Catherine Clark Women Get On Board was recently referenced in this article from the Ottawa Citizen, which speaks to the four ways to advance more women to boards: 1-Set targets 2-Develop a board skills matrix 3-Get help 4-Move the needle It has been six years since the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) implemented disclosure rules mandating that TSX-listed companies “comply or explain” their board diversity figures. The move was intended to lead to positive changes in how corporate boards recruit new board members. However, according to the recent Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt report, 2020 Diversity Disclosure Practices, just over 20% of directors serving on corporate boards in 2019 were women. This change represents only a slight increase in the average proportion of women on boards compared to prior years when the average percentage of female directors was [...]
As Founder & CEO of Women Get On Board, I recently joined the LumiQ podcast to discuss How to Get on a Board. In this episode, we cover: 1) The different types of boards and board positions to consider 2) Main considerations when pursuing a board position 3) How to assess if you are ready to join a board and identifying the right board to join 4) Strategies for preparing for and acing board interviews Listen now!
I often reflect on this quote: "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." I have noticed the profound and powerful truth of these words. In my 35 years as an executive, corporate director and entrepreneur, I have observed that one of the most powerful forces in the world is the power of giving. Giving motivates, delights, inspires and moves people. I have learned never to underestimate the value of giving with a generous heart. In this blog, I will discuss: Giving and taking in business Doing well by doing good Principles for giving generously and receiving graciously Giving and taking in business In Adam Grant's landmark book, Give and Take, he explores the power of giving in the context of the business landscape. Grant breaks the world down into three categories of people: Givers, Takers, and Matchers. Takers are people who prioritize wealth, power, and pleasure. They like to win, and they take what they need to succeed. Matchers operate according to the principle of fairness; they give [...]
I often hear that women need more mentorship from men and women leaders to advance their careers. While this is true, women need more than mentorship alone. Women need sponsorship, too! Mentorship vs. sponsorship What is the difference between “mentorship” and “sponsorship”? There are a few critical distinctions between the roles. Mentorship is about advising. They help by guiding behind the scenes. Sponsorship, on the other hand, is about acting. Sponsors support individuals they believe in by publicly advocating them when they are not in the room. In her Harvard Business Review article, organizational behaviour expert Herminia Ibarra succinctly describes the difference between sponsorship and mentorship. She writes, “While a mentor is someone who has the knowledge and will share it with you, a sponsor is a person who has power and will use it for you.” In her New York Times op-ed, Sylvia Ann Hewlett explains the difference between sponsors and mentors this way: “Mentors act as a sounding board or a shoulder to cry on, offering advice as needed and support and guidance as requested; they expect very [...]
Did you know the power of connection can be a one of the most effective paths to accomplishing your goals in business and beyond? Specifically, the path to success is authentic connection with people in your network. However, the very idea of networking and connection can be intimidating. The good news is that connection doesn’t just happen at awkward events. In fact, it is happening right now, everywhere—online, at work, and in your social life. Even when we are not consciously networking, we are still connecting. Meaningful connections can happen anywhere, from a virtual conference, to a LinkedIn post, to the person next to you in your yoga class. The question is: how can you connect more intentionally to build and grow your network? And once you do, how can you use the power of those connections to meet your goals? Allow me to offer a few ideas that can help. Communicate with gravitas Set your intention Be a connector Map your network Master the art of networking 1. Communicate with gravitas Whenever you talk to someone, you are connecting. That’s why [...]
In my 20th year of serving on corporate boards, I wrote a blog called “Emotional Intelligence in the Board Room.” Today, I am writing about the topic once again as the second blog in my “Elevating Your Board Effectiveness” series. If you haven’t yet, you can read the first blog in the series here: “Finding Your Voice in the Board Room.” The reason that I am reintroducing the topic of emotional intelligence is that in my decades of board service, I have observed that emotional intelligence is one of the most important and least discussed boardroom skills. What is emotional intelligence? According to Daniel Goleman, the American psychologist who popularized the concept, emotional intelligence is “the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. People with a high degree of emotional intelligence know what they’re feeling, what their emotions mean, and how these emotions can affect other people.” According to a Korn Ferry Institute study, “high emotional intelligence defines the most successful leaders and is at the heart of the best-run companies.” [...]
When corporate board have gender diversity, businesses see better results. For example, a Canadian study of 6,000 boards found that gender-balanced boards have more varied viewpoints and lead to higher effectiveness and decreased financial irregularities. That’s why Women Get On Board’s mandate is to connect, promote and empower women to corporate boards. I am pleased to announce that to further Women Get On Board’s mandate, I am launching a new blog series called Elevating Your Board Effectiveness. Building on my e-book “How to Get Yourself On a Board”, the Elevating Your Board Effectiveness series will provide practical insights, intelligence and tools to empower women with the skills and confidence to lead and serve on boards. Today’s blog launches the first of the Elevating Board Effectiveness series and is about Finding Your Voice in the Boardroom. As I wrote in my 2018 blog called “Finding Your Voice at the Boardroom Table”, it can be difficult to find your voice when you are a new board member appointed to a board that has longstanding relationships or when you are the “token” woman at the table. What’s the solution? [...]
By Deborah Rosati, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D According to a Harvard Business Review article called “Research: When Women Are on Boards, Male CEOs Are Less Overconfident”, having more women on boards yields better results for shareholders because “having female board members helps temper the overall confidence of male CEOs, improving overall decision making for the company.” Women Get On Board supports the findings of this study: having more women on boards leads to better results for the businesses they represent. That is why our mandate is to connect, promote, and empower more women to corporate boards. It’s also why I am sharing my board advice in this 4-part series called “How to Get Yourself on a Board.” If you have been following the first 3 blogs in this series, you have learned how to “Master the Foundations”, “Position Your Board Offer”, and “Get Board Interviews”. The final blog in this series 4es all of these elements together by showing you how to ace your board interview. In today’s blog, I provide my top ten (10) tips from my [...]
In recent years, businesses have begun to realize that gender diversity on boards makes a big difference. For example, one study of 6,000 boards found that gender-balanced boards are less likely to have financial irregularities because having different viewpoints and opinions leads to increased effectiveness. Women Get On Board’s mandate is to connect, promote, and empower women to corporate boards. We do this through an engaged community of women and men in Canada committed to advancing gender diversity in the boardroom. However, as I wrote in my blog post called “Are You Board-Ready”, “getting yourself board-ready is a journey where you need to be realistic in your skills, experience and value you bring to a board. You also need to be mindful that it is a very competitive marketplace. There is an over-supply of qualified corporate directors for a limited supply of available corporate board seats.” That’s why I am sharing my advice in my 4-part blog series, How to Get Yourself on a Board. My previous blog posts in this series covered how to “Master the [...]
