by Patricia Sellers
Only 15.2% of directors of Fortune 500 companies are women, according to a new report from Catalyst, as we noted yesterday.
Today: Tips for breaking into the boardroom. Listen up, guys. This could help you too.
I recently talked with Julie Daum, who heads the board search practice at recruiter Spencer Stuart. She also co-lead a session on Corporate Boards at this year’s Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. Her co-leader was former U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, now a director at Fedex and Caterpillar , and the breakout session’s participants included DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman, General Motors director Pat Russo, and Fortune‘s resident expert on boards (and many other things), Carol Loomis. Their advice:
1. Get on search firms’ radar: Search firms are the source of 58% of director recommendations, according to Spencer Stuart,.
2. Know what corporate boards value: “The ABCs: Attitude, Behavior, Candor,” says Daum. Don’t forget “D”–Diversity. Most boards are looking for women, minorities and people with international expertise.
3. Consider corporate governance training. Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management has a very good three-day “Women’s Director Development Program” designed for senior execs who want to get on major boards and serve them well.
4. Know what you’re in for: The average board of an S&P 500 company met nine times last year, , according to Spencer Stuart. Average tenure: 8.4 years.
5. Don’t do it for the money. The average director at an S&P 500 company gets paid $213,000–58% of that in stock and options, according to Daum’s research. That may sounds like a lot, but she warns, “Make sure the company is worth the possible reputation risk.” That is, if you’re on the board of a company that gets into trouble, you’ll find your time stolen and possibly your personal reputation too.
One positive trend for anyone who is not a CEO but wants board experience to help get there someday: Boards are appointing fewer sitting CEO than in the past. Why? Because more and more CEOs just don’t have the time. And some companies–including Goldman Sachs , General Electric and Disney –prohibit their most senior executives from serving on outside boards. Which means: More boardroom opportunity for anyone on the way up.