I was recently asked to facilitate a workshop about serving on boards. Thanks to a successful and lengthy professional career, I estimate that I have actively served on at least 30 boards (because I was an officer of several public companies, I have technically served on the board of more than 100 subsidiary corporations). After preparing the workshop outline, I thought it would be useful to summarize a few of its key points.
Serving on a board is often described as an honor. And it can be. However, it is also something far more consequential and often misunderstood.
Whether the board governs a for-profit corporation (private or public), a school, a college (non-profit or for-profit, public or private), or a nonprofit community organization, board service is a fiduciary duty. It carries responsibility, judgment, and risk. Many capable professionals accept invitations without fully understanding what they are taking on.
Over the years, I’ve come to believe that good board service depends less on prestige or passion and more on clarity: clarity about expectations, clarity about risk, and clarity about how governance works.
How People Get Invited to Boards
Most adults have never served on a board of directors. It’s possible that many imagine that board invitations are extended to the wealthy, the famous, or others who are well-connected. While it helps to be connected, boards recruit for gaps, generally not prestigious résumés.
Nominating committees of boards and CEOs of entities with boards of directors look for people they trust, people whose judgment they respect, people who will attend board meetings reliably, and people who bring perspectives the board lacks. In educational institutions, those perspectives might include financial literacy, strategic thinking, enrollment insight, academic insight, or governance maturity. In nonprofit and community organizations, it could be sustainability, advocacy, or community credibility.
Your first board is rarely your “dream board.” Many times, it is your learning board. That’s okay because the more board experiences you have, the more invitations you will receive to join boards.
Early Expectations Matter More Than Enthusiasm
When I was invited to join a board early in my career, the board chair framed expectations for board members in a way I’ve never forgotten. During the meeting where he extended the invitation to join the board, he stated that every board member possesses some combination of three attributes: Wealth, Wisdom, and Work (also known as “the three W’s”), and that each trustee is expected to contribute at least two. He added that due to my age (late twenties), he expected me to focus on the latter two, Wisdom and Work.
That framing was liberating. It set the stage for his expectations and acknowledged the reality that not everyone contributes to boards in the same way at the same stage of life.
- Wealth does not mean every board member is extremely wealthy. I believe it implies a meaningful commitment to the institution’s financial sustainability through personal giving, credibility, or access.
- Wisdom represents judgment: the ability to ask good questions, recognize risk, and see patterns across experience.
- Work represents your personal time and effort, whether it includes serving on committees, special projects, or attending frequent meetings when the board is working on a serious issue or project.
Healthy boards do not expect everyone to bring all three. They expect honesty about which two you can contribute.
How Many Boards Is Too Many?
One of my earliest mentors gave me a piece of advice that has served me well: sitting on more than three boards at a time is challenging for anyone with a full-time job.
Board service focused on personal prestige or resume-building isn’t service at all. It’s work that demands time, attention, and integrity. This means more than simply attending meetings. It requires preparation, follow-through, committee work, and availability when crises arise. If you are serving well, each board demands meaningful intellectual and emotional bandwidth.
Serving on too many boards creates predictable risks:
- Superficial engagement
- Missed warning signs
- Delegating judgment to others
- Erosion of credibility with fellow directors/trustees.
Boards need members who are present, not just listed. Limiting the number of boards you serve on is not a lack of ambition. It is a form of respect for the institutions and for the people who depend on them.
Understanding Risk: Real vs. Imagined
One reason some capable professionals avoid board service is the fear of the complications that come with serving.
There are real risks that every prospective board member should evaluate carefully:
- Fiduciary risk: Are the entity’s financial statements current and accurate? Are they transparent? Are the financial audits current? Does the entity have directors and officers (D&O) insurance in place? Is the D&O coverage sufficient for the entity’s size and risk profile?
- Legal and compliance risk: Especially in education, healthcare, and regulated nonprofits, weak financial controls or resistance to oversight are serious warning signs.
- Reputational risk: Your name will be associated with the institution. Would you explain this board affiliation comfortably to your employer or family? If you are a financial expert, would you be comfortable serving on the board of an entity that files for bankruptcy?
- Time risk: Boards rarely disclose the amount of time they require until a crisis arises. If you don’t have time for a bad year, you shouldn’t join.
Some people likely overestimate imagined risks that should not stop them from serving. These might be:
- “I don’t know enough.”
- “I might ask a dumb question.”
- “I don’t look like the other board members.”
- “I’m not a fundraiser.”
No board member is perfect. But the best ones are able to exercise good judgment, demonstrate curiosity, and have the courage to speak when it matters.
When You Should Walk Away
Some risks are manageable. Others are not.
You should pause—or walk away entirely—if you encounter any of the following:
- No financial transparency,
- No directors’ and officers’ insurance,
- Leadership that resists board oversight,
- Vague or evasive expectations around money or time, and/or
- Ethical discomfort you cannot explain but cannot ignore.
Unspoken expectations almost always become sources of resentment, disengagement, or personal exposure in the future.
What Effective Board Members Actually Do
Once you say yes, your role is not to be liked. It is to be useful.
Boards are responsible for:
- Hiring, supporting, and evaluating the chief executive,
- Financial sustainability,
- Strategic direction,
- Protecting mission and reputation, and/or
- Recruiting new board members to replace retiring board members.
Boards are not responsible for:
- Managing staff,
- Solving day-to-day problems, and/or
- Micromanaging operations.
The best board members prepare, ask strategic questions, support leadership publicly, and challenge respectfully when necessary. They understand when silence reflects wisdom, and when it reflects avoidance.
Knowing When To Step Off a Board
Just as important as knowing when to say yes is knowing when to step off a board gracefully. Board service is not meant to be permanent, and healthy institutions benefit from thoughtful rotation.
Sometimes the reason is practical: life changes, professional demands increase, or attention becomes divided. Years ago, I stepped away from a community nonprofit board when my professional obligations as a CEO precluded me from attending its board meetings. I felt it was better for them to have a board member who could actively participate in meetings and some of their events.
Other times, the reason is governance-related: the organization needs different skills than you bring, a new phase of leadership requires a fresh perspective, or your continued presence no longer adds the value it once did.
Stepping off well means giving notice, supporting succession, and leaving the board in a stronger position than you found it. Staying past the point of meaningful contribution is a quiet form of disengagement that can harm the organization.
Say Yes To the Right Fit
Serving on a board can be profoundly meaningful work. It can also be demanding, uncomfortable, and occasionally lonely. The question is not whether you belong on a board. The question is whether the board understands and respects the contributions you will make.
The right board will value your contribution, make expectations explicit, and protect you when you exercise judgment. If it does, saying yes can be one of the most impactful professional commitments you make.
