Blog – Dynamic Boards

Becoming A NED In A Family Owned Business

A seat at the top table of a family owned business brings its own set of unique challenges and opportunities for a NED joining the board. The family owned dynamic is ‘the little bit of magic you always have to think about’.

Adding A Non-Executive-Director To The Board Of Your Family Owned Business

Adding a Non-Executive Director to a family owned business board

What are some of the pros and cons to appointing a non-family member to your family board? Read on to find out.

Shadow Directors: What Is A Shadow Directorship & How To Avoid It?

Boards are at the heart of company governance. They play a critical role in making strategic decisions, managing risks and providing oversight and accountability, and can have a significant role in shaping the company’s overall performance and impact. With great power comes great responsibility for the company Directors, but watch out: it also comes to shadow directors.

How do I respond to a Chair who allows for minimal input from the Non-Executive Directors?

B3Living’s experience of the Dynamic Boards Non-Exec advertising service

“We’ve recruited some great people in the past, but I’ve found you get the same pool of people applying. We really wanted to improve the diversity on our board so I came to realise we needed to do something different“. Claire Howe, Executive Director, B3Living We launched Dynamic Boards to do just that. Something different. UK boards would be more

Becoming a young Non-Executive Director: Shona Marsh

Shona has two board roles: Trustee with Disability Snowsports UK, and Non-Executive Director at Visit Scotland. Shona became a non-exec at 31. She emailed Dynamic Boards to share that someone she knew asked her ‘what experience have YOU got that would be suitable for a board?’ in a rather condescending way. The person who asked that knew little of her

What to write in your Non-Executive Director role advert?

We advertise c.100 Non-Executive Director and Chair roles every month. Here are our top tips on what to include in your non-exec advert: Headlines: Name of the organisation whose board they would be joining. And if they would be joining a sub committee board within that organisation detail that in the title. The title of the role – e.g. Chair,

“It’s complicated.” Everyone nods, smiles and moves on. What should I do?

Dear Dynamic Boards, One of the executive directors is clever, charismatic and absolutely on top of their game. The rest of the board think they are great and are slightly in awe. However, the result is that whenever I put forward even slightly challenging questions the response is – “well, it’s VERY complicated…” and the rest of the board nod

Tech experience on boards: 10 reasons Chief Technology Officers make great Non-Executive Directors

Every business is now a tech business. Yet many boards are still lacking technology skills. They have been for quite some time, in 2016 we saw that only 2% of FTSE 350 companies have a technology specialist in the boardroom¹. In 2020 research showed technology was the most commonly cited skill gap on FTSE 100 boards². The stats for other

Off putting wording used in Non-Executive Director adverts

Words matter. When someone is reading an advert for your board role, they should be able to gather an impression of your values and culture, understand what kinds of skills, experiences and perspectives you are looking for and figure out whether they would be a good fit. Is that happening? Are they getting a good impression of you and your

Data dive on housing non-exec board roles

What kind of board members are housing associations looking for? How much do they pay? And how much do they use search firms? Read our insights to find out. Nearly half of all Housing Associations specifically look for diversity in their non-exec adverts. The group most frequently encouraged to apply for roles is people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic

How To Write A Non-Executive Director CV And Cover Letter

Whether you are applying for your first board role or are looking to land your next NED opportunity, the quality of your CV and covering letter can make or break your chances of success. Read on for our top CV and cover letter writing tips.

Non-Executive Director jargon

Trying to get your head around the difference between a Non-Executive Director, iNED, Commissioner, Associate Non-Exec or Trustee? The range of roles can make the process of looking for one feel overwhelming. We post c.100 non-executive roles a month on Dynamic Boards and they have a broad variety of titles. What do all the roles we show you on Dynamic

NED chats ~ Mark Sweeny, Non-Executive Director, Sapphire Independent Housing

Watch our full conversation with Mark Sweeny, Non-Executive Director, Sapphire Independent Housing Highlights: ☛ Why housing associations’ have independent non-execs ☛ Has the experience of being on a housing association board changed in 30 years ☛ The COVID-19 impact on the length of board packs ☛ Innovation in housing associations ☛ The need to look at diversity in governance in a sustainable way

Helping Housing Associations create dynamic boards

We know it isn’t easy to create a dynamic board; with a brilliant and ever changing mix of skills, experiences and perspectives. We are on a mission to help you dance towards dynamism, (rather than ticking boxes to achieve diversity)! We use data to optimise the advertising of your non-exec vacancy so you or your search firm can focus your

Joining the Board of a Housing Association

Becoming a non-executive director of a housing association is “like getting an MBA for free”… We asked Mark Sweeny what he’d say to someone considering joining the board of a housing association. His 1 minute answer gets to the heart of it: you’d get a huge amount of personal development (akin to a “free MBA”!) and a chance to bring

NED chats ~ Jonathan Roe, Chair of Amigo Holdings Plc

Watch our chat with Jonathan Roe, Chair of Amigo Holdings Plc. Highlights:☛Joining a board while meetings are held remotely☛ The impact of lockdown on interactions between the board and employees☛ The importance of simple or left-field questions☛ Avoiding group think Thank you Jonathan for your time! ——- If you know of a Non-Executive Director who you think Dynamic Boards should

NED chats ~ Jenny Brown, Board Member and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee, Longhurst Group

Watch our chat withJenny Brown, Board Member and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee, Longhurst Group. Jenny has been on boards since her 20s. In this video she shares her reflections on the role of a Non-Executive Director. Highlights:☛ Contributing in areas that aren’t necessarily your specialism☛ Standing back and seeing the wood from the trees☛ Having a NED role

Tokenism on boards

Diversity awkwardness. In this series we hit the awkward topics around boards, and we try to encourage a move towards a thoughtful discussion that will drive us to create truly dynamic boards. This is #2 in the series, click here to read #1 “I’m not diversity”. “I don’t want to be asked to join the board just because I’m the

“I’m not diversity” ~ why we advocate using the word ‘mix’

Diversity awkwardness. In this series we hit the awkward topics around boards, and we try to encourage a move towards a thoughtful discussion that will drive us to create truly dynamic boards. He started the video call by saying “So firstly, thank you for speaking with me. I know I’m not diversity. But I’m interested in chatting to you about

How to encourage under-represented groups to apply for your board role

If your board is looking to develop a better mix of skills, experiences and perspectives, get in touch with us at hello@dynamicboards.co.uk, we’d love to help you achieve that. If you think the board of the company you work for isn’t representative then please share this blog with your CEO or the Chair of the board. Or tag them in

Non Executive Directors for 2020 and beyond

All too often we only hear about company boards when something goes wrong. When there is a scandal we ask ‘where was the board?’ and we expect them to perform as a public punchbag. Look back 30 years, and UK boards were often trophy cabinets: the great and the good, there to show the evidence of the company’s gravitas. Look

Non-Executive Director Pay: Demystifying NED Pay In The UK

How much do Non-Executive Directors get paid in the UK? The quick answer is that, like any job, it varies a lot. Read our guide to discover how much you can expect to earn as a NED.

How Dynamic Boards uses your data

Why we’d like your data and what we plan to do with it. Purpose-led needs data-led When we started Dynamic Boards we committed to making our approach purpose-led and data-led. We exist to make UK boards more dynamic: with a stronger mix of skills, experiences and perspectives represented, for the benefit of all. When you sign up to Dynamic Boards

What is a Non-Executive Director?

In this article, we shed light on what it is to be a non-executive director. The role of a non-executive director today is far from the stereotypes; of smoking jackets, whiskey and private members clubs with panelled walls. So, what is a NED? A fresh pair of eyes A non-executive director brings an external perspective to discussions around the board

Dynamic Boards – Our Story

For the last ten years I’ve heard many people talk about improving the diversity on UK boards. I’ve been to countless diversity events, sat on panels as someone who has broken the glass ceiling, and heard endless discussions on the state of UK boards. But I’ve never heard a candid, public discussion on the problems with non-executive director recruitment. The

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