Boardroom INSIDER for… NOVEMBER

“CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION” FOR BOARDS?

Worldwide, if you are in health care, a lawyer, an educator, or hundreds of other professions, continuing professional education is a requirement to keep you fresh in your specialty.  But if you serve on a board of directors as fiduciary of a billion-dollar enterprise?  No need.  There are no mandates for boardroom continuing ed.

Maybe we need to rethink this policy, writes publisher and governance speaker Ralph Ward, in the November issue of his online monthly Boardroom INSIDER.  “There is little demand that directors grow in their jobs, and even fewer incentives to do so.”  Despite a rich global infrastructure of MBA programs, audit and consulting firm trainings, and professional groups, “we assume board members come to the board with all the knowledge they’ll ever need to be effective.”

Ward predicts that board continuing education could become a regulatory or activist demand. But boards themselves should act by making valuable, professional trainings on topics like audit, legalities, technology and ESG an item on every board and committee meeting agenda.  Or, allot board funding for members to seek their own relevant CPE that refreshes their governance value.  “Structure it like a board perk,” writes Ward.  “What investor could object to a benefit that boosts director skills?”

  Also in Boardroom INSIDER for November…

What your board must know on corporate compliance.
Questions to ask on your cyberliability coverage.
Q&A: Turned down for a board role — now what?

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My new Udemy Get Ready for Your First Board Meeting online course is for C-level career executives, entrepreneurs, investors, company founders, and all of you who’ve gained your first board role.. and want to be prepared when you walk through those boardroom doors.  Included are Q&A thought starters and “homework” projects to round out the course.  

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Ralph Ward’s latest book, Board Seeker: Your Guidebook and Career Map into the Corporate Boardroom (Business Expert Press) gathers 20 years’ experience in board counseling and research to give “board wannabes” the steps and insights needed to craft a successful board search campaign.
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— Here’s why you have more “board experience” than you think (and why your current resume hides it).
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— How board searches really work (and how to turn flaws in the process to your advantage).
— Gaining the attention of board contacts and search firms.
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