Taking Baby Steps

I was sitting with an organization last week that was attempting to look systematically – for the first time – at what constituencies they needed on their board.

They got a little overwhelmed – there were so many important groups and so few of them were already represented in their board make-up! Neighborhood merchants, local manufacturers, real estate developers, academics – the list went on and on.

I could see people’s faces dropping as they weighed the difference between who was currently at their table, and the vibrant body that their board could become.

Time to prioritize.

Change happens one step at a time. Board growth often happens organically, as like recruits like. Once an organization takes a long hard look at a functions-oriented board profile (as in: who can do what and who can access whom), it often seems like a steep mountain to climb to get from here to there.

And the answer is: take baby steps.

Pick two constituencies or bodies of expertise (i.e. finance, or marketing/communications), and create profiles. Like a Chief Operating Officer of a small manufacturing company (giving you budgeting, HR and general management expertise along with local business contacts). Or a Director of New Media for a chain store (giving you social media, communications, and probably a few corporate connections). You get the drift – pick some high-priority logical combinations, then start going out to lunch with people who can lead you to people who can lead you to the right prospects.

One step at a time.