More diverse leadership in organisations results in better decision making, better organisational resilience and better performance. It also opens up more opportunities for women to succeed and contributes to a more inclusive and fairer society.
At Global Women, we want to see our members and partners succeed at Governance level in order to effectively influence and drive change in New Zealand.
It’s up to us to extend our influence as best we can, so we’re in a strong position to advocate for others. The final topic in ‘The Perspective Series’ is about learning, reading, connecting, influencing, sharing knowledge and‘Exploring new Frontiers’.
According to Forbes Magazine, here are the top 10 reasons why Diversity is good for the Boardroom:
1. It reflects the real world –something every company should be sensitive to.
2. Healthy debate can lead to better decisions.
3. Divergent backgrounds mean tackling the same idea in differing ways.
4. Great ideas come from disruption of the status quo.
5. Your clients and customers are diverse.
6. This can make your company knowledgeable and sensitive to a wider variety of groups.
7. Counsel from a variety of authorities is sensible.
8. Setting an example at the top will hopefully have a trickle-down effect within the organisation.
9. Improved reputation and brand.
10. A variety of backgrounds can make the company more adaptable to its ever changing environment.
What are Global Women doing to impact changeand support D&I in NZ?
As part of the Champions for Change initiative, our Champions have committed to 40/40/20 gender and diversity balance on boards within their organisations i.e. at each level of seniority, 40% of both women and men, with the remaining 20% being of any gender, allowing for a natural flow of people into and out of the organisation. For example, this could mean six men and four women in management –or five of each.
Propero Consulting are NZ’s leading governance service provider. With over7 years of placing Board Directors and Chairs to many of NZ’s best known companies Propero works with many of NZ’s leading companies.Among their many achievements, Harvard University have written case studies taught in their MBA and executive programmes, on Propero’s Board evaluation and director search programmes.
Propero are market leaders in board diversity and inclusion. They are committed to moving the dial and to ensuring equal representation through establishing a strategic skills metric when appointing for diverse board composition.During our recent information session, Propero shared their insights and passed on insider tips and trends to assist senior women to support career development and to further our objective of equal gender representation on boards.
As Search Providers, Propero often identify challenges around bias. When appointing directors, boards spend approximately two minutes per CV so when applying for board roles, it’s critical toshow your sector and strategy experience, influence and networks and to highlight your multiple skill sets and your interest in the organisation and its strategy.
Here are the 8 top tips from industry leaders Propero Consulting on where to focus your actions when expanding your Governance portfolio.
1.Work on your Governance CV –highlight governance skills, quantify roles and include ‘known name’ references to bridge the gap
2. Find alignments:
- Sector adjacencies
- Executive experience matching to entity size and scale (i.e. CEO plus some)
- Demonstrate broad commercial thinking
- Think broadly about governance roles -crown, local government, listed, private, SME, non profit, cooperatives
- Values / cultural alignment
3. Consider future director programme / IoD mentoring
4. Leverage networks and events appropriately / don’t overplay your hand
5. Get your CV into search firms databases (do step 1 first!)
6. Sign up to be alerted on advertised roles –e.g. appoint better boards, IOD
7. Keep going as it can take time –be patient for the right roles
8. Work hard to do a great job in your first role
To find out more about current trends in board appointments, see the attached Propero presentation pack or call Managing Partners Matt Stanley or Sarah Naude
P:+64 9 373 2333
W: propero.co.nz
Global Women presentation pack September 2019