Diversity in boards – who is seated at your table?

There is a unique challenge in boardrooms across Africa, where businesses on the continent are being guided and shaped for future success. The men at the table are often mired in old-school ways. The fault lies with how African companies select the boards that govern them. The prevailing tradition is for companies to find predominantly older males with vast experience in the corporate world to serve their Boards. This practice automatically excludes anyone who is below the age of 40 as a conventional board member.

Are we all to conclude that being 40 and below means, you don't have the needed skillset and experience to make valuable contributions to an organization? Because of the automated age system, most boards have the same people in the older age range recycled. Outdated generational mindsets can genuinely limit the effectiveness of a Board. Especially in times when the future of business in Africa requires agile thinking and innovative solutions for a hugely different world from twenty years ago.

The best global corporations began adding diverse voices and perspectives to their boardrooms at least ten years ago. Why shouldn’t African companies start on a similar path? Serving on a Board is a complicated, demanding job, with many risks, and arguably, these risks have become harder to navigate in a transitioning Africa, hindered with corruption. Boards should be focused on bringing people along to help them understand and navigate the needs of the future. Having the right mix of people with different perspectives in the Boardroom can help steer a company in the right direction.

My first Board meeting as a company secretary happened some five years ago. Since then, I have had the chance to serve on many Boards. I have been in boardrooms where companies have been facing liquidation, where board members have been embroiled in conflict, where negotiations for exits have turned on a fine point. What is essential is not only racial or gender diversity, but diversity in roles, backgrounds, age, etc. Good boards function best with diverse viewpoints that add value to how businesses determine their future.

What does your company board look like today? Imagine how new direction and better decisions could be brought into your business with fresh perspectives from people with a different cultural appreciation. Isn’t it time for your company to invite new people to be seated at your boardroom table?