Learning, as an expert

It is sometimes said that what got you promoted to a more senior role won’t let you keep that role.

This can be true for directors. There is potentially a trap with skills matrices in the sense that they may lead to directors being selected for their specific skills to fill gaps on the board. But this is not enough. All directors need a minimum level of literacy to fulfil their governance role, generally including financial management, health and safety and climate change.

There is also a danger for experts on boards. They may be “ghetto-ised” into their area of expertise and are “seduced” into the value of their contribution by other board members who come to rely on their expertise.

Sydney Finkelstein, the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, addresses these issues in the article “Don’t be blinded by your own expertise”, which offers some tips:

• Resist being ego driven. Are you over reliant on the status your expertise has brought you? Do you try to look good at the expense of others, or the company? It’s time to get grounded and publicly acknowledge other people’s accomplishments. Maybe step out of your flashy office and really listen to your workforce instead of instructing them.
• Challenge your deep-rooted ideas. Question your assumptions when dealing with familiar goals, like expanding into a new geographic market.
• Actively seek to learn from your team. Encourage them to give feedback and share their ideas and opinions. Reflect on what you can glean from them.
• Look for fresh talent. Choose people who are on a different page from you, culturally, functionally or industry-wise and tap into their ideas and experience.
• Learn from someone you respect. Find a role model or someone to learn alongside and bounce ideas off.
• Start experimenting. Let go of your comfort zone and banish limitations.
• Challenge yourself creatively. Try hobbies outside of work that expand your vision.
• Acknowledge your errors and what they can teach you. Give time and attention to what went wrong and why, and consider how to improve next time.

Other directors, including those with significant expertise, can help by looking out for this “expertise trap”, helping everyone on a board to contribute and drawing appropriately on all of the expertise around the table.

Seeking external advice can bridge any gap in the board skillsets, especially in specific areas where this is needed.