92. A new (to me) take on the board skills matrix

SCRIPT Skills matrices have been a standard tool in the director recruitment process for years and years. The basic idea is this: you create a literal matrix where along one axis you have the names of your directors and along the other you have a list of the skills that are important for the effective functioning of your board. Assuming you’ve done a great job at defining the skills, you should, at a glance, see where you have gaps and redundancies, and what issues might emerge if and when any of your directors leave the board. Using all that information, you can focus your recruitment process on candidates who have the skills you need today or might need in the near future. If you’re a regular OMG listener, you’re thinking that right about now is the moment I’ll claim that the standard model is broken, or at least not as good as everyone thinks. It turns out that in this case, I actually really like the standard skills matrix as long as it’s well-defined and regularly updated. But I’d like to propose adding a new feature to the tried and true model. What if you included a list of the MUST HAVEs? For instance, every director must be willing and able to dedicate at least 15 hours per month to board work, and must have enough financial literacy to interpret a balance sheet, and must commit to attending at least one continuing education event per year. In other words, what are the MINIMUM qualifications for sitting in the seat? I think those core requirements are important recruitment factors, too. And they give new recruits a clear picture of what’s expected of them.