A poorly executed board recruitment strategy can be the silent saboteur of a board’s success.

Quality board recruitment processes are the cornerstone that ensures the right mix of expertise, experience and vision exists to govern with confidence. Unlike executive recruitment, it’s also a process that most boards only engage in occasionally, so boards need a robust and repeatable process embedded in their culture.

This episode features a recent conversation between Paul and Tom Mutch, Partner, Board & Public Sector Practice at leading international recruitment firm Odgers Berndtson.

Their chat deep dives into board recruitment, succession planning, candidate assessments, and the pivotal role of nomination committees....and might also feature some references to British humour. Sorry!

Some links:

• Tom's written interview with Future Directors
• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Check out Tom and Odgers Berndtson

What type or style of board member are you? Are you the Stakeholder Champion, Data Chaser, Status Hound, Unprepared, or even the Narcissist?

These are the types identified in a recent article from Harvard Business Review, and in another bite-sized episode from Paul, he gives you a few more to play with. Then, Paul asks how can we harmonise so many different people into an effective team or board?

Have a listen and see what you think.

Podcast links

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)

Yes, 100 episodes!
Wow.

Almost 70 hours worth of conversation about boards, directors, technology, diversity, education, careers, challenges and more.

It's been a blast.

To welcome us into the next century, you have a new host, Matt Fullbrook. Amongst his claims to fame he's the single most repeated guest on Paul's podcast and one of the few others governance podcasts to hit 100 episodes.

In this episode, the tables are turned and Matt interviews Paul about his journey.

And, it gets super embarrassing for Paul...

Some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Matt Fullbrook's podcast
• Matt Fullbrook's website

As we near our ONE-HUNDREDTH episode, Paul shares his favourite episode of all time. It also happens to be one of the most downloaded episodes in the podcast's history.

Featuring repeat offender Matt Fullbrook, alongside younger directors Nurain Janah and Hannah Stenning, this replay of Ep57 dives into why we need intergenerational diversity in the boardroom.

This is the first part of an eventual two-parter, so feel free to drop back to Ep58 straight afterwards.

See you next time for EPISODE 100!

Some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Nurain Janah's website
• Hannah Stenning on LinkedIn
• Matt Fullbrook's podcast
• Matt Fullbrook's website

Hello, fellow governance geeks, director dorks and boardroom boffins! This special technological episode features your host Paul Smith - founder of Future Directors - chatting with the hugely popular Generative AI tool, ChatGPT 4.0.

Having crowdsourced some questions from his network, Paul ask Chat questions, follow-up questions, agrees to disagree and more with a voice-enabled version of the revolutionary tech.

• Learn what ChatGPT says about governance, diversity, decision-making and more
• Learn how boards can use tools like this to support critical thinking and decisions
• Hear how it copes with some real-world boardroom scenarios

(Please do note that this episode was recorded in February 2024. Technology moves fast, so who knows what it will be capable of when you listen).

Some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Image generated by DALL-E (actually by Matt Fullbrook - yes, him again!)

In this episode, Paul takes a backseat to his colleague Aisling Blackmore who recorded this webinar with William Rae and Elaine Crichton from Inspiring Scotland in late 2023.

(Please note, there were some sound issues during this recording)

Inspiring Scotland is a UK-based charity that identifies and solves problems on a national scale, working together for a Scotland without poverty or disadvantage.

The episode brings together lived experience leadership, models for inclusive decision-making, and stakeholder-focused governance. Prepare to challenge conventional thinking by exploring both personal growth and crucial changes within the boardroom environment to foster inclusivity and safety.

William is a board director and Chair who brings lived experience of learning disability. Elaine, from Inspiring Scotland, delivers inclusive governance training.

Here are some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Connect with Aisling Blackmore (LinkedIn)
• Check out Inspiring Scotland
• Connect with William Rae
• Connect with Elaine Crichton

Can you believe we are four episodes away from the Magic 100?!?

This is a wonderful in-depth chat between two people obsessed with board governance. 

Jess Bulger is a proud Wiradjuri woman from Tumut in NSW, Australia. She is the CEO of the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute and Co-Chair at Outward Bound Australia. She cares deeply about indigenous leadership, capacity building and seeing communities thrive. 

In this wide-ranging conversation between two governance geeks, Paul and Jess cover:

• The importance of language. Is it First Nations, Indigenous, or Aboriginal?
• Is Indigenous Governance singular or does it take many forms?
• What can companies do to engage their indigenous stakeholders better?

Here are some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Connect with Jess (LinkedIn)
• Check out AIGI (Australian Indigenous Governance Institute) 

Are you looking to build a board of directors from scratch or enhance your existing board composition? If so, then this episode is the one for you. 

This ep features a recent conversation between Paul and special guests, Rosie and Lucy Thomas from Project Rockit. A few years ago, these two sisters worked with Paul to enhance the board composition of their social enterprise. 

The chat dives deep into their thinking, their blindspots, the Future Director's process and how it all came together. We also touch on the lessons learnt and how it's all going in the boardroom. Fascinating stuff!

Here's some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Check out Project Rockit