What The Future Board Member Must Become

Technology, Culture, and History are three things that will greatly influence the future board member. The point where these three circles converge is the real sweet spot that will make organisations either responsive or retrogressive. But some people's viscosity towards rapid change shall keep them outside this sweet spot as they cling to the comfort in their isolated circles.

A friend recently narrated to me about an old man he knew who at 90, still refused to use cars. He would arise early and walk to planned destinations despite the ubiquity of vehicles. He reasoned that using a vehicle amounted to inviting disablement upon himself. In his world, cars found him already an able-bodied man. And this is the challenge of resisting technological changes — and especially when they find you in your comfort zone. You lose out on both time and energy when the adapters outpace you and consign you to a point of irrelevance pending oblivion.

Another story is told of a man who was born and raised in country X. The people there practised very strict cultural routines that required men to hide all forms of emotions in public. The man could not openly cry before women and children and neither was he expected to laugh around them as well. The more serious-looking they were, the manlier they became.

This man found favour and was sent abroad for higher education after attending a boys-only school system. The people in his host country expressed themselves very openly. He was not used to hugs, pecks or kisses.

This guy had a serious crush on a classmate and she knew it. She invited a hug from him but he declined the offer. So, she picked the other guy who had expressed interest and life moved on. There are times when the world wants to hug us but we decline the offer because of our cultural boundaries. Here too, you lose out on time, energy and valuable dreams — besides having to mend a broken heart.

Finally, let us give time to this potential couple. The pair got introduced by friends and they had their first date. And as with first dates, any topic goes. They were in a restaurant whose TV was screening The Food Channel, and the lady excitedly went on for minutes on end about cooking.

She talked of all her thrilling food experiences to a bored guy who listened on with uneasy patience.

Then a car advertisement crossed the screen and the guy enthusiastically jumped in.

He too talked for long about cars to a lady who cared less about cars. She was openly bored. Needless to mention that the date ended abruptly when the lady's friends walked in.

The combined history of food and cars killed it — and with that, another potentially happy-ever-after relationship sadly wasted away.

The three stories are of people — and decision-makers at that, in their own right who never found their sweet spots amid prevailing fundamentals. And promising futures got swept aside by failure to seek common ground or the path of least resistance.

Many organisations have entrusted their future in the hands of resistant directors. We are in unprecedented times and the results no longer take long to manifest — disregard for technology disadvantages the resistant ones in a faster-paced world.

Are your board members open to board away days to discuss technology and its impact on the business? Or are a car, phone and IT manager the tech that matter?

Cryptocurrencies are a big topic now. If your board is the wait-and-see type, then failure has started, it is just a matter of time.

Are they discussing a progressive culture? And this has nothing to do with compromising on ethos. Every change comes with cultural adjustments.

Many people are thankful to organisations for the travel opportunities that work has afforded them. These, going into the future, will be fewer and far between because meetings are now virtual. The future director will not insist on travel. Or, put differently, organisations will be less willing to transport and accommodate directors unnecessarily.

So, that part of the questionnaire that asks if you love frequent travel has now taken a whole new meaning. Tick it carefully.

A tablet in hand as you step into the boardroom is now a norm that says little about your tech-savvy attitude. It is the time that you put in to understand trends and applicable technologies and how they can lift the business that you have oversight responsibility for. The director must continuously evolve. There is never a time that total evolution is attained.

The one thing that history is adept with is the documented findings of the dinosaur — a creature that in all its remarkable variations reigned supreme over all other creatures. By its mighty size, it had the highest chances of survival on account of claiming the first right on all the food sources. It had an enviable headstart but only for its stubborn body's refusal to adapt to the changing environment. Its body's pride stopped the much-needed evolution process, and it fell.

Lesser forms of life such as insects, birds and other reptiles adapted and outlived the extinct dinosaur. Kodak gave way to tech minions because of refusing to change. We no longer choose products for our customers, they choose what they want and they prefer those that give them a higher experience. We must accept this.

We have smart dinosaurs gracing the boardrooms of some organisations — smart enough to sense change but opting to stay put on strategy. And for as long as things are flowing well, they thrive. But big disruptions have a way of calling them out. This is because they are held back by a culture with historical references yet the challenges at hand require instant creativity or the adaptation to better-evolved ways of working.

The future director understands that today's technology is tomorrow's history and to adapt to the new tech one must accept to evolve the work culture around what is prevalent.

The moment you cease to be futuristic in your thinking and adaptive in your ways, then you cannot be a future director. Ask for the curator's job.