Page 22 - CCCA Magazine Fall 2019

{ FEATuRE }

How to be a Better

Board Member

By Amee Sandhu, CCEP-I

An in-house counsel’s career path often includes working with a board of directors.
For many, it is part of the job description: they are the liaison between management
and the board, responsible for ensuring the integrity of the governance framework
and compliance with legislative requirements. In addition, increasingly more
lawyers, like me, are interested in another capacity: serving on a board.

erving on a board can be a fulflling experience in many Board Training: Why?
ways. It can help you develop leadership skills and, par-
Sticularly when serving on not-for-proft boards, support There are some well-known training opportunities that exist
a cause you believe in and give back to the community in which for potential board members, such as those offered through the
you live and work. Institute of Corporate Directors (www.icd.ca), onBoard Can-
Over the last few years, we have seen a great deal of continu- ada (onboardcanada.ca), Canadian Board Diversity Council
ing professional development for in-house counsel on how to (boarddiversity.ca) and Competent Boards (competentboards.
obtain board positions. Board positions are considered coveted com). I chose the intensive two-day Not-For-Proft Governance
roles for advancement, and these offerings tend to target law- Essentials Program, which was offered jointly by the Institute of
yers from diverse communities, such as myself. Corporate Directors and the Rotman School of Management.
This article focuses on strategic boards, specifcally looking The primary reason I took the training was to help me un-
at what to do once you obtain a board position. How do you en- derstand the difference between being on the board of an orga-
sure you are adding value to the board that you are supporting? nization and being in a management role inside that organiza-
And how can you translate your experience to becoming better tion. While I have been on several committees over the years,
at serving your employer-client? my role as a board member began in 2018, and after attending

22 CCCA MAgAzine | fALL 2019 AUToMne