Leading Boards Mentor New Directors

Onboard and engage new board members

Who This Is For 

Board buddies, mentors, and advocates*

The Aim 

Instill confidence and clarify unwritten rules of the board to empower new board members to make their best contributions.

Take Action

• Make a good mentoring match
• Onboard the business and the board interpersonal dynamics
• Prep for meetings with them, so they are ready to contribute, and coach through challenges that may arise from entering a new environment
• Support informal engagement with other board members

User Tip: Match board buddies for one or two years to maximize learning and engagement.

Benefits

Mentoring new board members can accelerate their ability to make meaningful contributions to the board. This encourages the board to evolve their practices to support learning and development, consequently becoming more effective.

Why It Matters

Successful board work requires cohesion and difference*; yet automatic dynamics often favor the status quo which may especially exclude people from historically marginalized groups*. These steps can provide a strong foundation - and can be used for any new board member.

_{^{*Advocate: A person who proactively and intentionally seeks to support another’s participation in the group. 
*Difference: For the purpose of this playbook, difference is used as a term to identify that all people in a boardroom have varying backgrounds and identities. 
*Historically Marginalized Groups: These groups are defined by historic, systemic, and ongoing (current) discrimination and oppression to the “margins” of society.}} 

_{^{Learn more about advocates in the glossary.}}