A day in the life

9:00 AM: Audit Committee at the bank

11:30 AM: Board meeting at the mining company

2:00 PM: Strategy Committee at the retailer

4:30 PM: Board meeting at the insurer

7:00 PM: 300 pages waiting to be reviewed for tomorrow

Welcome to the life of the modern “successful” director. A professional juggler balancing multiple boards, committees and responsibilities, convinced they can give 100% in every role. Reality suggests something very different.

The impossible arithmetic

NN is considered a “star” director. She sits on five boards, chairs three committees, and prides herself on never missing a session. She is also an active consultant and a university professor. The industry admires her ability to “do it all.” But let’s do the math.

Each board requires, at a minimum:

Multiplied by five boards, plus her other activities, she would need months of 45 days to do the job properly. Yet no one seems to notice. Or worse, no one wants to notice.

The illusion of omnipresence

“I’m very efficient with my time,” some argue. “I have decades of experience,” others justify. “The industries complement each other,” reason the most optimistic.

But when the crisis comes — and it always comes — reality hits hard. Last year, a major company faced a critical cybersecurity crisis. It needed daily board meetings. Two of its “star” directors were abroad on other commitments. Another had “immovable” conflicts with other boards.

The price of juggling

Board overload exacts its price in subtle but profound ways:

MM, a director of five companies, privately admitted that he no longer reads the full reports. “I flag the important points and trust the executive summary,” he confesses. “There’s no other way to keep up.”

PP, with four boards, acknowledges that he sometimes confuses discussions from different companies. “For a moment I thought we were talking about the bank’s digital strategy, but we were in the retailer’s board,” he admits.

The paradox of the sought-after director

The irony is cruel: the more “successful” a director is, the more boards they accumulate. And the more boards they accumulate, the less effective they can be on each one. It is a spiral that can only end in superficial oversight.

The real cost

Superficial oversight has real consequences:

And the saddest part: often we don’t even realize it until it’s too late.

The myth of accumulated experience

“Experience across multiple boards makes me a better director” is a common argument. But do we really need directors who are walking encyclopedias of superficial experiences? Or do we need directors who can immerse themselves deeply in the unique challenges of each company?

The uncomfortable proposal

Imagine a world where:

The new standard

The effective director of the future needs:

For an honest reflection

The next time you’re in a boardroom, look around and ask yourself:

A call to action

It’s time to challenge the myth of the superhero director who can be everywhere and do everything well. Excellence in corporate governance requires focus, dedication and, above all, real time.

The best director is not the busiest one, but the one who has the time and the willingness to do the job well.

References

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