A first board appointment places new demands on senior management. I prepare tomorrow’s leaders by ensuring they know what to expect, and to be proactive in planning their development.

The new appointee to the board needs a particular approach to influencing skills, building effective stakeholder relationships and networks. They must demonstrate their emotional intelligence, personal drive, presence and authority. They’ll be looked upon for their enthusiasm for the business, especially in difficult times.

They’ll balance operational issues versus the strategic, while finding time to engage the team, with empathy, and exercising their social skills.

This can be a daunting prospect, even to a brilliant senior manager.

Appropriate coaching can prepare the director in waiting to adopt their new role with confidence and ease.