Don’t Quit Your Day Job | Ep. 32

I’m here to tell you not to quit your day job!

Naturally, I’m often asked what people can do to help themselves land their first board role.

After heavily advocating that they invest in building, nurturing, and leveraging their network, I recommend that they be REALLY good at their day job; what Cal Newport refers to as being so good they can’t ignore you. After all, your expertise is usually the primary reason why you’ll be attractive to boards, particularly at the beginning of your board career.

My transition from very small organisation boards, onto the boards of organisations that had day-to-day staff was predicated on my expertise (at that time I was doing marketing and PR). It was a transferable skill set that applied in many organisations and industries.

Additionally, your skill set provides you with what I like to call ‘low hanging fruit’ when considering which board(s) you may want to initially consider joining at the beginning of your board career; places where your current expertise is most valued. It may be a board or organisation in your industry, or it may be a totally different industry / organisation that has the need for your transferable expertise.

In this episode I cover WHY your professional career is vital for your board career, and the three things that I recommend for you to do if you’re someone who is in a professional career and is an aspiring board member.