Boards Need Love Too
Saul Klein, who in my book is already one of the best angel investors / startup advisors / directors in the business, sent a note to all his portfolio companies asking for feedback – 3 things he should do more of, 3 he should do less of.
Straightforward and commendable. And the first time I’ve seen it done!
Serving on a board of advisors or directors is a role and a skill, like anything else. But unlike other jobs, like being a engineer or marketer or salesperson, a culture and processes don’t typically exist to help one really hone their skills.
1) There is no professional training for it – you don’t study it in school
2) There is no formal mentorship or coaching for board members (directors or advisors), within companies, or VC firms
3) You don’t log many hours exercising that skill, or observing others do the same (by contrast – a engineer is an engineer 2,000 hours a year)
4) There is a small pool of directors and advisors out there – which leads to an even smaller pool of all-star role models
5) A small percentage have 10+ years of board experience – contrast that with the number of years your senior management has, doing the jobs they do.
6) There are no formal reviews or feedback loops. You do weekly, monthly, quarterly, annuals reviews of all your employees, after all.
If your company has more formal programs for helping board members (be they advisors or directors) improve, do share! And if not - would your company do a quarterly 360 review of all its advisors and directors?
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