The complexities and challenges that organizations and businesses face require boards to have an array of skills as their primary resource. Board members with diverse backgrounds provide the depth of understanding and perspectives from multiple perspectives as well as a vast experience required for productive discussions which lead to well-rounded decision making.
However, many boards struggle to move from “nice to have” to an obligation. The discussion of diversity in boardrooms typically focuses on ethnicity and diversity as well as gender. However it is essential to broaden the discussion to include diverse professional backgrounds and abilities.
To achieve a diverse board, you need commitment and a change in the way we think. Some trustees aren’t comfortable with rethinking their legacy procedures, for example, the tendency for board nomination committees https://affordableboard.com/ to put their search in the same direction for new members. Boards can boost diversification by broadening their search boundaries to include diverse communities, and by attracting candidates with particular expertise in areas of the business’s greatest need (for instance consumer-oriented companies may require a marketing expert or an international business may want directors skilled in geopolitics) and establishing connections with candidates who are historically underrepresented prior to the need for it.
Board members who have an open and inclusive board culture believe that having the appropriate mix of social and professional diversity helps create an environment in which everyone’s ideas are valued. They explain that a diverse board is better equipped to comprehend the complex problems facing their company, as well as the challenges faced by its customers and other stakeholders.