On Boards

Earning a seat on a board is a rite of passage for senior leaders. Serving on a board is an opportunity to share your skills and extend your reach beyond your own organization as you help select, appoint, and review the performance of an organization's senior leadership team, determine compensation and incentive plans, approve strategic decisions, and ensure the financial well-being of the organization in both the short- and long-term. But in today's increasingly complex business environment, serving on a board also means working to address detailed issues such as increasing diversity on the board itself and in the organization, ensuring a risk-mitigation plan that prepares the organization for everything from hackers to sexual predators, and navigating big-picture challenges such as the unprecedented pace of change and disruption all while managing financials and shareholder expectations.

If you read nothing else on boards, read these 10 articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you address classic challenges such as increasing diversity, ensuring a culture that reflects company values, and providing strategic oversight while also addressing emerging issues such as shareholder activism, cybersecurity, and ever-shifting regulations.

This book will inspire you to:

• Collaborate effectively with the other members of the board and executive team

• Anticipate and address legislation and regulation issues

• Adopt a company-centered model that prioritizes the health of the enterprise over fattening shareholders' wallets

• Rethink your role and attitude toward risk

• Support leadership transitions

• Foster creative abrasion to keep ideas flowing

• Manage and build relationships with the executive team and your shareholders