Getting Women into the Boardroom with Shiela Ronning
In this Shedding the Bitch Radio episode, host Bernadette Boas interviews Sheila Ronning, founder of Women in the Boardroom, to guide women on how to secure corporate board seats. The conversation covers why preparation should begin early, how to assess and fill skill gaps (e.g., P&L, technology, HR), and the importance of creating a strategic board bio that highlights enterprise impact rather than job duties. Ronning explains the variety of board types—large public, mid‑cap, private, nonprofit, and advisory—and stresses realistic expectations about which boards are attainable. Networking is presented as the primary driver of board placements; she recommends building a spreadsheet of influencers and connectors, dedicating 15 minutes a month to nurture those relationships, and setting modest connection goals at events. Reputation management is highlighted as a continuous, cross‑platform responsibility, with advice to align words and actions and to treat every interaction as a public record. The interview also showcases the resources offered by Women in the Boardroom, including webinars on leadership topics, a VIP membership that provides board‑bio coaching and exclusive board‑opening alerts, and regular events in New York and other cities. Ronning comments on broader gender initiatives such as Lean In and board quotas, noting that while Fortune 500 board representation for women remains low (15‑17%), many opportunities exist on smaller and nonprofit boards. The episode concludes with concrete action steps—make a personal board‑readiness plan, maintain a strong personal brand, and actively engage with the Women in the Boardroom community on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
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Hello and welcome to Shedding the Bitch Radio, where you can discuss, debate, and get advice on how to discover and shed the bitches of angst, attitude, and negative mindsets so you can realize your dreams and life purpose and create and accelerate the riches you want in life. Join us here live every Tuesday at noon Eastern and dialogue with us at 818-572-2910. You can also chat with us at blogtalkradio.com/sheddingthebitch or share your stories on our website sheddingthebitch.com. Whatever the bitch is that's holding you back from living your life to your fullest, it's not worth giving up the riches in life that you deserve. So call in now and let Bernadette Boas know what's holding you back. 818-572-2910.
Well, good day everyone, or evening, wherever you might be around the beautiful world that we all live in. This is indeed Bernadette Boas, and you are listening to Shedding the Bitch Radio. And I am just excited for today. I'm just excited for having to be able to wake up and put my feet on the ground. But it's actually also a very beautiful day here in Atlanta. So I'm staring currently out the window of an office and just looking out and being able to watch all the all the world go by. So I'm excited also for our guest today. I'll be speaking with Sheila Ronning of Women in the Boardroom in just a few minutes. And so I want you to get ready with your questions, with your comments, with stories if you should have them. But I really am excited about this conversation with Sheila today about tips for landing a corporate board seat. And she's going to kind of go into you know, all the things that you really need to be thinking about and considering when taking those steps towards doing that. I feel it's important because, you know, we've been barraged over the last several months with just what do women need to do to kind of lean in, stand up, sit down, take a seat at the table, whatever you call it, and what is it that we can do as advocates for you, Sheila and myself. We spend a great deal of time trying to educate and motivate and inspire women to take those extra steps and really pursue some big dreams. That's what we're going to get into with my guest, Sheila. How are you doing, Sheila?
I'm doing great and very excited to be here. Thank you so much.
You are very welcome. You're in Manhattan, correct?
Correct, yes.
So it's all kind of brick and concrete.
Hey, we've got Central Park. We've got all the beautiful trees.
Hey, New York is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite places.
And I'm right on the Hudson too, so it's hard to even— when I look out my window, it's hard to think that it's just all the cement city, you know.
Yes. Oh, that's sweet. And not only that, everybody, but when Jill and I started talking, I was, you know, kind of asking her if maybe she had some static on her line because there was some, you know, a lot of shh in the background. And she said, Bernadette, it's probably because I'm in the city and my window's open. It's actually traffic that you're hearing. So yeah, I kind of forgot about that since it's been a while since I've been up in New York. But let me dive into introducing Sheila formally and properly to all of you., and then we're going to dive into this whole conversation about, you know, tips for landing that corporate board seat.
You are listening to Shedding the Bitch Radio with Bernadette Boas. We are inspiring individuals around the globe to discover, confront, and shed their bitches of fear, insecurity, and negativity so they can create the riches in their career, business, and life they deserve. Be sure to check out Bernadette's book Shedding the Corporate Bitch: Shifting from Bitch to Rich in Life and Business. Available on Amazon and sheddingthebitch.com. We also want to thank our sponsors: TSR Consulting, who offers a broad range of tax services for small to corporate size clients. Go to TSRConsulting.com to learn more. And Parker House Virtual Services, who provides virtual assistants and social media support for small to medium size businesses. Email deborahparker@deborahparker78@gmail.com for more information. To become a sponsor or advertiser on our program, email us at mediarelations@sheddingthebitch.com. Shedding the Bitch Radio airs every Tuesday at noon Eastern time. Be sure to go to blogtalkradio.com/sheddingthebitchradio and follow the program for all of the updates and announcements of our guests and show topics. Now let's return to Bernadette and Shedding the Bitch Radio.
Let me introduce, uh, my guest. I've been waiting for quite a while to have her because, uh, we've done some things together, and I'm just loving what she's doing. And I'm going to make sure you have all of her contact information and how you can contribute and, um, and get involved. With her organization. But long before women on boards was a hot topic, Sheila Rhoning believed in women's ability to serve on corporate boards strongly enough that she founded her own organization around it, which is Women in the Boardroom. Today, as one of the nation's top leadership and board service experts, Sheila excels at connecting professionals with the people and the tools they need to succeed in business. Now, I'm going to halt there and just note to everybody, Pay attention to that last part about connecting professionals, because she speaks very much so on your network and what you need to do in leveraging your network to kind of pursue whatever goals, and in this case, a board seat, successfully and very effectively. So since 2002, Sheila's mission has been to provide training, tools, and connections to help women achieve their career goals and get into boardrooms. She knows the challenges smart women face: self-doubt, fear of speaking up, lack of knowledge about board service, and limited connections. Her goal is to give women the tools, knowledge, and confidence to show up, stand up, and speak up. And that's what it takes to get to the C-level positions, let alone end on corporate boards. Prior to founding Women in the Boardroom, she garnered over 10 years of strategic marketing, sales management, and operations leadership experience. With companies that range from Fortune 500 leaders to visionary startups. And I needed to read this. When asked her secret to networking, Sheila said, "Be fearless, sincere, honest, and frank." Today, Sheila has thousands of powerful connections nationwide, which she uses to help other women achieve their goals. And again, network, network, network. Sheila's leadership development expertise has been featured in Wall Street Journal, Forbes Woman, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Pioneer Press and Chicago Sun-Times. Excuse me. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal named Sheila in their prestigious 40 Under 40 for her entrepreneurial dynamicism and reputation as a networking maven. And most recently, Sheila won the Enterprise Women of the Year Award from Enterprising Women Magazine. You know, I'm so impressed with what you're doing, Sheila, and I'm so happy that there's a resource like you and Women in the Boardroom out there. So I'm so thrilled to have you.
Well, thank you very much. I'm so thrilled to be here, and I'm hoping we can help as many people as we can through your radio station.
Absolutely. Well, and one of those people are me. So I've, you know, I've always had a desire to be on a board.— and yet, you know, I always believe timing is everything type of thing, but yet I know you and women in the boardroom talk about, you know, that you need to even prepare long before you even pursue. So, could you touch on that?
Yeah, absolutely. Well, okay, so if you— when you start thinking about wanting to serve on a corporate board, that is the time to start taking some type of action. You know, I hear it from women all the time where they say, "Oh, but you know, it's something that I would like to do, but it's not for 5 or 10 years yet." I will tell you it's never too early to start thinking about it, start preparing yourself for board service. So, because there's many different things that you should be doing. I mean, if you even just take a look at your skill set and really assess that and figure out What is missing? You know, you might want to start thinking about, oh, I need to have some P&L experience because I'm kind of weak in that category. Or, I mean, you know, there's always going to be some hot new, you know, what is the latest industry that boards are looking for? Because, you know, financial experience is always going to be the one that boards are looking for, right? But they're also these days looking for technology, social media, operational, you know, HR experience. So really take a look at your skill set and see what you should be adding to that list. And I think that's a really great place to start. You know, so really you're also starting out with making a strategic plan to take you there. And figuring out, okay, if it is 5 years out or 10 years out or, you know, 6 months out, right? But, I mean, you also have to be realistic. You can't just expect to be able to get on a board right when you decide that you want to start looking. Right.
Right. Right. Well, let me ask you something because you've been following— we both spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, and I want to remind everyone, just Google Women in the Boardroom. You're going to find a— a really strong collaborative group on LinkedIn. You're going to find her Facebook page. You're going to find womenintheboardroom.com, which is an amazing resource of programs and events and resources all around this subject, and even more so. So make sure that you, you know, Google Women in the Boardroom, Google Sheila and Learning. You're going to find it, but find those resources and start contributing to it. But Sheila, because you spend so much time out in the blogosphere world, so to speak, you know, we hear and see and witness a lot of women who don't even like— thinking about being on a board is so sometimes intimidating for women. And plus, they're so new or they're so young in their career that they don't even kind of— they're like, oh my gosh. I didn't want a board. You know, there's a sense of overwhelm. How do you coach women to kind of look at it differently to where they do plan for it early like you're talking about?
Well, you know, I mean, I think also it's being realistic about what types of boards. I mean, the good news is that there's so many different size companies out there, and I think when, you know, whenever— you know, women in the boardroom, whenever the topic is in the media or in the news, it's always focused around Fortune 500 companies. And yeah, that is intimidating. And I mean, if you look at the, you know, people who are serving on those boards, they're, you know, typically they're, you know, sitting CEOs. So really, I just want to make sure that people understand they need to be realistic about what size of board is for them. I mean, really when it comes down to it, there are so few people, men or women, who are even qualified to serve on a Fortune 500 board. So we do focus a lot more on, you know, smaller publicly traded boards or privately held company boards or for-profit advisory boards. There's so many different types of boards out there that, You really— I mean, okay, so you can hear about all these serving on boards and that can be intimidating. But really when you scale back and think about all the different types of boards, like for instance, if you are sitting in the C-suite of a mid-cap company, that's the size of board that you should really be going after. Or if you're CEO of a small business, those are the companies that you should than, you know, try to gain a seat at their table. Right. Yeah. So, I mean, really, it's just— it's being realistic. And those are the ones that you're going to be able to contribute and really help those companies.
Right. Now, let me ask you a question. Are the requirements different from sitting on a board of directors of a small, you know, $10 million, $20, $100 million company to those of a corporate board?
Well, that would depend on, you know, the owners of the company, right? A privately held company, you know, sometimes is owned by a family. And so, I mean, it's really going to depend on how the— owners of that company, how they have that board structured. There's plenty of companies who are privately held that, you know, have their board of directors operating the same way that a public company does.
Right, right, sure, yep, yep. And is there a difference between a nonprofit and a for-profit?
Yes, definitely. I mean, Okay, so a nonprofit board, and again, there are so many different types of nonprofit boards and government boards, so many different types. And again, it's going to depend on how the organization is set up and structured. But there are many, many nonprofit boards, typically they're going to be the larger, you know, the United Ways of the world. Those larger boards are definitely run a lot more like a public company board. They're very structured. They have really good corporate governance. Then when you look at a nonprofit board that's maybe a smaller charity or a trade association type board, sometimes those can be very, very different from a structured board. And a lot of times when you're on a nonprofit, it's give or get, right? So it's all about fundraising. So either you give a lot of money or you get a lot of money for the board or the organization. Yeah. Right.
Okay.
And so I mean, I think that— oh, go ahead.
No, I said there's a lot for people to think about.
Right, exactly. I mean, I've heard, we've had, over 150 amazing women who are serving on corporate boards speak at our events over the last 11 years. And every one of them has their own opinion, which is obviously great. But when asked the question, does it— is serving on a nonprofit board, is that a great place to start? And I definitely have had a lot of mixed reviews. Personally, I think that if you have never served on a board, I think that a nonprofit board is a great place to go and at least get the feel for serving on a corporate board. However, I think that one, women need to be very careful with figuring out what is going to be the time commitment of serving on that nonprofit board. Again, it's going to be the financial piece of are they expecting me to write a check for $50,000 or to fundraise for $50,000? I think those are two key things. And then of course you always want to be careful of the reputation of any board that you're serving on because if you're involved with an unethical organization or something, you don't want that kind of reputation. But the nonprofit board can be great because if it is a very structured board, then that's a great place for you to learn about governance. And typically on the larger nonprofit boards, there will be some really amazing people that are serving on that board with you. And so that goes into building your network, which I know we're going to talk a lot more about and why it's so vital. Serving on those nonprofit boards, yes, can be a great place to start. And I strongly suggest that if you volunteer to be on a nonprofit board that you show up, stand up, and speak up. So don't just have your name on the roster and never go to the board meetings because believe me, sister, you're always being watched. And if you don't, if you're committing to being on a board, you better be there.
Right. And everyone listening, I'll expand that to, you make a commitment, because this is just something that's happened to me recently, so I'm just going to throw my little two cents into this thing. If you make a commitment, and you make a commitment in this case to a board, or an association, or some sort of committee of some sort, Make that commitment and keep it. Show up. Because whether you're officially being watched or not, the people around you are certainly picking up on whether or not, you know, when you make a commitment, you keep it. And when you don't, trust me, that will come back at you, unfortunately, in the way of an empty wallet. So, yes, especially for a board position, If you're going to that extent, you need to know, like Sheila was mentioning, all the things about that board and its requirements before you make that commitment.
Okay.
So you know you have something called a board bio?
Yes. Yes. Okay.
So you—
Say that one more time?
What is that?
Well, it's definitely different from— your regular bio. I mean, we just actually sent out our newsletter yesterday, and Deb Nelms, our board coach in that, did such a great job of defining that, and I should have had it ready. But a board bio is typically, it's a one-page description of what you can bring to a board. It's not going to be you know, like your typical board bio or your resume where it's focused on the different jobs you've had.
Right. Okay.
Yeah, and you know, we actually have a webinar. It's a past webinar, virtual event of ours that focuses on talking about creating— well, it's creating your professional profile and also your board bio.
So, I would suspect that you had mentioned earlier that there are certain requirements, you know, of what a board would be looking for, or generally what boards look for. You mentioned financial, you mentioned some of them look for HR and for technology, that kind of thing. So, what your, basically, your profile bio or your board bio would be is unlike a resume where it has kind of your history of your positions, it's more what are your qualifications, more in a qualitative perspective. Is that fair?
Yeah, you know what, I actually just found this article, so let me just read this one part where Deb defined it very well. She said, "Your board bio is different in that the focus is on enterprise impact versus roles, responsibilities, and tactics. You begin with a strategic view of yourself centered on why or what the strategic imperatives have been rather than what was required of you to accomplish a particular project, engagement, or initiative.
Ah, very good. Much more strategic and enterprising than your myopic kind of tunnel vision, task-oriented that resumes tend to be.
Yeah, and a clean message on the value you will bring to a board. So if people are, you know, interested in, you know, going into this a little bit more in detail, I certainly can chat with them. I'm also going to later today going to be posting our newsletter, our latest newsletter in our LinkedIn group. And so if they join Women in the Boardroom, the LinkedIn group, they can see the newsletter there as well.
Well, they can also— can they sign up on Women in the Boardroom for the newsletter?
Yes. Yep, definitely. Yeah, they just— there's a contact form on our website on womenintheboardroom.com, and they just fill that out and they're added to our database.
Right. Great, great. So at that point, everyone, I mentioned I'm going to give some things away. So at that point— at this point, what I'd like you to do is I'd like you to, whether you're listening to this live or in archive, I'd like you to go out to— go to both LinkedIn and join the Women in the Boardroom group because you're going to learn so much. And the women that are out there are quite impressive, and the dialogue and the conversations don't only talk about the boardroom. So don't think that everything, you know, you're not there yet, your head's not there yet. It talks about all kinds of business and career and women issues. So go to LinkedIn and then go to Facebook. Now, what I'd like you to do is do those two things, like her on Women in the Boardroom Facebook and the group on LinkedIn, then go to my Facebook page, okay, Shedding the Bitch. Just Google it, you'll find it, and just leave me a comment, you know, that thanks for the conversation with Sheila today, or whatever the case might be. Just leave me a comment that you listened to the program today, and I will reach out to you in a private message, and I will send you an autographed copy of my book, Shedding the Corporate Bitch, But I'll also throw in a couple of other little goodies in there as well, and you can go to my website and always see the different types of products and gifts that we have. But that's what we'll do. So go to LinkedIn, like Women in the Boardroom and join their group. Go to Facebook, like their Women in the Boardroom Facebook page, okay? And then let me know on the Shedding the Bitch Facebook page.
You are listening to Shedding the Bitch Radio with Bernadette Boas. We are inspiring individuals around the globe to discover, confront, confront and shed their bitches of fear, insecurity, and negativity so they can create the riches in their career, business, and life they deserve. Be sure to check out Bernadette Boas' book, Shedding the Corporate Bitch: Shifting from Bitch to Rich in Life and Business, available on Amazon and sheddingthebitch.com. We also want to thank our sponsors, TSR Consulting, who offers a broad range of tax services for small to corporate-sized clients. Go to TSRConsulting.com to learn more. And Parker House Virtual Services, who provides virtual assistance and social media support for small to medium-sized businesses. Email Deborah Parker at deborahparker78@gmail.com for more information. To become a sponsor or advertiser on our program, email us at mediarelations@sheddingthebitch.com. Shedding the Bitch Radio airs every Tuesday at noon Eastern time. Be sure to go to blogtalkradio.com/sheddingthebitchradio and follow the program for all of the updates and announcements of our guests and show topics. Now let's return to Bernadette and Shedding the Bitch Radio.
Uh, so I, I know you're huge on networking and so am I, and really leveraging your network. And I know when I left corporate I was stunned that after 25 years I only had like 700 contacts, you know, that I really kind of even maintained, let alone nurtured. So what is your position on networking, and what are some tips and tough love you can give everybody when it comes to making sure they have a network that will support their goals and objectives?
Well, you know, first of all, I want to mention that search firms are out there obviously placing people on boards, right? And they— but their own statistics are telling us that it's less than 15% of all board seats are filled by a search firm, and so the other 85% are being filled by your network, right? So, I— I can't even stress enough how much it is to use your network for everything in life, but obviously there's different people that bring different pieces to it, whatever it is that you're needing. And when I'm coaching or talking to people about serving on a board and using their network, there's some really easy things that you can do. And I mean, it's— so obviously LinkedIn is great, but it can be kind of overwhelming how many contacts you have on there. But what I always tell people to do to do is to on a spreadsheet just real simply, on a spreadsheet put all of the people in your life that are influencers and connectors. And just list them out with their contact information. If you remember who connected you, then write that person's name down, but then also that person goes on the list. And then just make sure that you are reaching out to them couple of times a year. The first time you put that spreadsheet together, it's going to be a little overwhelming. It's probably going to take a couple hours to do that at least. But then just make the time commitment to yourself of spending 15 minutes a month on working on that networking spreadsheet. You really will be surprised at how many influencers and connectors you know. It could be someone that you worked with in the past. It could be an old boss. It could be somebody who you've served on a board with. But, you know, anybody that's, you know, a fan of Bernadette's, right, and that you know would, you know, definitely be a great influencer and connector.
Right. Define for everybody what an influencer and a connector is, or what an influencer is to somebody.
Well, you know, somebody that would be able to influence a decision is the easy definition, I feel. You know, somebody that believes in you that could help, you know, help influence somebody making decisions to choose you.
Right.
And then a connector is somebody who, um, it's just part of who they are. They, they love to help others and they love to be able to connect people to each other. Um, and I just feel like that is such a great way to network, when you're networking, just do— please do not make it all about you. You get what you give, right? So, you know, if you're in, you know— and by the way, not everybody is an extrovert like I am. I understand that. But even networking sometimes can be painful for me, right, where I'm just not in the mood. Set some realistic goals. If you're going to an event or some type of meeting and there's going to be hundreds of people there, take the pressure off yourself really and just say, "You know what? I just need to make 2 new connections here and then I can go home." Right? Sometimes it's just about taking that pressure off yourself and realizing that you don't have to meet 100 people.
So since we're talking, though, about the subject about, you know, women pursuing a board position, when it comes to this 15 minutes that you're recommending—and I love that—15 minutes that you're recommending for people to spend on their connections and then to, you know, when they go to networking events—I talk about it all the time—making sure they have a goal and objective. And you're right, don't overwhelm yourself. When it comes to their goal and objective of the board assignment, and maybe they're not ready, maybe it is a 3 to 5 year type of thing, what should they be doing and asking and informing people of, of those influencers now in order to prepare them?
Well, I mean, they could— I don't know. I mean, you know, that would be kind of more of a mentoring type situation probably if they're 3 to 5 years out. But, you know, they could, if those influencers are connectors, I mean, it depends on where they're at in life and what their skill sets are. But, you know, they could always reach out to them and just say, hey, I'm thinking that eventually I want to be serving on a board. Is there any, you know, just any basic tips they could offer as far as if they have an idea of what skill sets they're missing? Yes. Good.
Well, because I tend to find that the early part of your discussion that you have and the education that you provide with women in the boardroom is what women also should start doing, is really proactively thinking about that. Whether they're 25 or they're 45, thinking about, well, I never thought about being on a board, so I'm going to start connecting and being influenced and asking questions now and really finding out what kind of board I want to be part of and what really kind of gets my juices flowing because that might be the type of company that I want to, you know, support. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then I would assume that if they're— if they're closer to wanting to get that assignment and that appointment, then that networking is all about identifying the opportunities that are out there. Is that where you were going? Yeah, I—
definitely. But, you know, I mean, one— I want to just mention something when you said about our programs. You know, yes, we are called Women in the Boardroom. Our goal, you know, our mission is all about wanting more women to be serving on corporate boards. But, you know, so we've been doing this now for the last 11 years, and what we really now over the last couple of years has just evolved into so much more than really just wanting to help those women get onto corporate boards, because I've just learned so much about women. And, you know, obviously men and women are so different, and we really are wanting to help them even just get to that next level in their career. You know, so in a lot of our virtual events, we're providing a lot of different leadership-type topics, whether it's on emotional intelligence, personal branding, you know, marketing yourself, executive presence. So there, you know, you can't get into the boardroom without being, you know, a great leader. So we do focus a lot on leadership type topics. And while our target market is certainly senior level women, those virtual events, people of all ages and wherever they are at in their career can certainly learn from those webinars.
Absolutely. And that's why I was— that's great. I wanted to make sure everybody understood that don't get kind of questioning whether or not the subject matter or Women in the Boardroom is for you. And yet, at the same time, leverage the, the inputs and the tips and the resources that Sheila provides for both early career, ongoing career, or that pursuit of the boardroom. You can do it all along. So let me mention real quick once again, Find Women in the Boardroom on LinkedIn. There's a great group where you can collaborate and share and dialogue with other very impressive individuals. And there's also Women in the Boardroom Facebook page that you can collaborate and socialize on. And then, of course, womenintheboardroom.com. You have to check out the resources, past and ongoing. Events and webinars and programs that Sheila provides. It is quite impressive and she does have some great events. And don't you have an event coming up in New York?
Yeah, we have events in New York on a monthly basis and we do still go to a couple of other cities as well. We used to go to 15 different cities across the US, but our webinars are taking the place of a lot of those now, which is great. But yes, next week we do have an event here in New York. On the 12th, I believe it is. I don't even know where this year is going. It's crazy. But that's on emotional intelligence. Yep, it's on the 12th. Okay, cool.
And then they should just go to the calendar that's online of events. Yep, yep.
That's womenintheboardroom.com and then click on upcoming events. All right, okay, cool.
Let me ask you something. Do you find that— do you find— what is your opinion and what is your thought process around this whole craziness with Lean In, the book, and Sheryl Sandberg and what that has kind of stirred up in the marketplace? And do you see the times and the things changing and shifting to where we should start seeing some drastic modifications to how we hire and train and develop both men and women, but specifically around women in business.
Well, you know, anytime something gets a lot of media attention around women, I think, you know, is a good thing, right? Yeah. Yep. So, you know, whether you agree with her or not, I just think any time you can get the juices flowing, those discussions going, is a great thing. And I know a lot of men have read that book too, so I mean, I just think it's good. There's always something, right? There's always— seems like there's always some kind of— a little stir. And so I do see that the tides are turning. You know, I mean, when any kind of research is done, whether it's by Catalyst or whoever, you know, that's typically just focusing on the Fortune 500 company boards. And so you can look and see that the numbers are not changing. You know, it's always around that 15 to 17% at least for the last 11 years that I've been working on this. But again, the numbers are only being done for the Fortune 500. And remember I said earlier that the good news is there's a lot of other types of boards out there. Now a friend of mine actually, she has this website called newsonwomen.com, and she just recently stopped displaying all the information on women on boards on there just because it was so much work for her and she feels like there's a lot of people that are focused on it now. But she does— she still does a lot of great things on women in leadership. But, you know, she has some archives on there too. It's just fascinating to be able to see how many women are actually being placed on, you know, privately held company boards and smaller public company boards. And, you know, we get approached. I mean, we're— you know, Women in the Boardroom is not a search firm or a placement firm. I'm really working for, you know, like our VIP members who are really ready to serve and trying to get their names out there. But it's— I find it really fascinating that over the last 10, 11 years, on average, I would receive 1 or 2, you know, corporate board openings a year just because of the work I'm doing, you know, where people would reach out and say, "Hey, you know, do you have any women that might be interested in serving on our board?" And now in the last 10, 11 months, I've actually received 10 openings. Wow. And yeah, and one of those openings is actually for, you know, a company in the UK where they now have to fill a quota. And so that particular board was looking for 3 women to fill their quota, and they wanted women, you know, American women that had international experience. Nice, nice. And are women stepping up? Yes, I do. I, you know, you keep— every once in a while you hear the whole thing of, you know, that women aren't stepping up, or women are— the qualified ones can't be found, and that's just not the case at all. There's plenty of women who are stepping up, and there are certainly thousands and thousands of qualified women.
Well, it's interesting, and the reason why I ask that is because this past week I was talking to a CEO of a very large company, and we were discussing, you know, how I can support them, blah blah blah blah blah. And so one of my specialties, like you, is women and, you know, helping women to to find their place in business. And I challenged him. It was— it's a very male-dominated industry that he's in, and I challenged him as to, you know, the women in his leadership team, let alone the board. And he said, well, I have a difficult time finding them. Right. And I said, is that right? I said, you know, is it— do you feel it's qualifications? Do Do you feel it's, you know, what you're asking for? What do you think the issue is? And he says, I don't have them asking for the position. And so I said, well, you know what? I said, I'm going to do a case study for you. And he kind of like, he was on the phone and he kind of paused. And I said, I'm speaking to that industry on the 14th of June. I'll be more than happy to find out how it is that these women in this industry are not stepping up to these opportunities that you have and try to get you some information because I would love to say that I don't hear that as an issue like you, that you don't find that women aren't stepping up. I happen to hear it and see it on a regular basis, unfortunately. And so that's okay because we just need to— it'll keep you and I busy in helping them. To do it. But I'm glad to hear that at least from the work that you're doing and the focus that you have in the niche that you serve, especially when it is concerning the board placements, that, that there's definitely women stepping up to wanting to do it because that's what, you know, that's what's going to help change the whole dynamics and get rid of all the excuses that unfortunately many, many women use around why they aren't getting the positions and they aren't getting the advancements that they want. So let me ask you in our last few minutes of talking, what would you— what are some tips? What are some solid kind of like take action now, ladies, that you would provide someone that you've met and/or you didn't meet around taking those next steps? What should they be doing, thinking about?
Yeah, right. Well, so one, I definitely, you know, you need to make a plan, right? Anytime you want to get somewhere, you always have to make a plan. So definitely, you know, jot down your plan and make sure that you're aware of your reputation, you know, for excellence and show leadership in your, you know, your main job in industry. You know, you can educate yourself on board responsibilities, learn what it's like to be on a board, assess your skill set, what can you bring to the table. And I think it's very important to always bring your A-game to whatever you do because people are always watching you, right? So dress well, be prepared, show up for every meeting. Don't work that BlackBerry or iPhone under the table because people always notice, right? Yeah, yeah. You know, it's about building your profile and your personal brand. So I mean, I think those are great places to start.
And I know, well, I know all of those things. Reputation management, I'm going to ask you one last question because you happened to bring that up, and I had all the standard things that I know you've had programs on. Reputation management, I don't know that I know for myself, I mean, I'm the author of Shedding the Corporate Vest, so I didn't necessarily pay really good attention to my reputation for many years. But, you know, again, what if we dug into that reputation management? You know, where are women, since we're talking, falling down in that regard, and/or where can they really kind of excel? Sell themselves when it comes to their reputation?
Well, you know, I always just say all I ever have is my word, right? So if you say you're going to do something or you say you're a certain type of person, then be that. And also, if you are wanting to be a managing director, then act like you're already— you should already be acting like you're the managing director.
Great. Yeah. And be careful because, you know, your reputation goes across all kinds of platforms, right? It's verbal, it's on emails, it's in voicemail messages. It's on Facebook, it's on LinkedIn.
Right. Yeah. I think it's so funny when someone is speaking at our events these days and they'll ask me, "Oh, this is not going to be recorded, right? I mean, everything is off the record." I'm like, "Honey." Nothing is off the record these days. You know what I mean? I mean, anybody can have a recording device and have it turned on. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You have to wonder why they don't want it recorded too.
Well, yeah, it just could be whether it's, you know, they're sharing some information that happened on their board or something like that. But I'm like, well, you shouldn't be sharing that, you know. Yeah.
Well, I'll give you a quick example. I was on LinkedIn the other day and this young gentleman came onto one of the groups, I can't recall what group it is, and posed this question, posed a question. And two people responded to him, and then the third one came along, and not to stereotype, but older gentleman came along and said, and it had to do with, it had to do with, I want to say it had to do with reputation. He comes along and he says, "Well, if you have to ask a stupid question like that, then—" And I was just like— and he might not have used the word stupid, but he asked something to the effect of, "Well, if someone has to come online and hold up a conversation and ask a question like this one, then yeah, maybe you're right." And I thought to myself, that is so inappropriate. And so, you know, so I came back and said, well, you know, thank you for the question. I really, you know, I definitely want to, you know, contribute to your, you know, your inquiry. And I said, and I mentioned the gentleman, and I said, and Joe, I said, you know, people's reputations are also based on their responses as much as their questions being asked. Because I thought that this gentleman, the one who was asking the question, certainly didn't deserve a response to that effect. No, no, no, no. And therefore, that, you know, that gentleman's reputation, as you're talking about, you know, definitely is tainted as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. You know, because it was just totally inappropriate. So I think that's a brilliant point you bring up, that you have to pay attention to your reputation regardless of where you're communicating and presenting it.
Yep, definitely. Yeah.
Well, this has been fabulous. I knew I was going to be excited and thrilled to have you as part of Shedding the Bits program. I want to thank you so much, Sheila. It's been great. I want to remind everybody before she jumps off, I want to remind everybody, please go to womenintheboardroom.com. All resources, all kinds of events and programs that you can be part of. She even has a VIP level. Oh, you know what, Sheila, I want you to explain what can— what are the benefits— that someone gets being a VIP member on Women in the Boardroom?
Yeah, well, so you have to be at a certain level, of course, to be a VIP member. We have other levels as well, but we're really looking for those, you know, the senior-level women who are serious about wanting to serve on a board, you know, within the next year. That doesn't mean you're going to get on a board within the next year, but It's definitely something that they are ready to be doing in the next year. And again, when we get those board openings, I pass those out to the VIP members and let them know about them. But before that, we are working with them on their board bio. They'll get 2 45-minute sessions with our board advisor/coach, and she will help assess their skill set, critique their board bio. And then we have Q&As, you know, on a regular basis with other board experts where you can ask your, you know, those burning questions that you have about serving on a board or interviewing for a board. And so that's pretty much our VIP program. So, womenintheboardroom.com, everyone.
Take a look at it. Check it out. And when you go there and sign up for their newsletter, sign up and make sure you're getting their newsletters on a regular basis. As well, go to their Facebook page, which is Women in the Boardroom, and like their page. And then go to my Facebook page, Shelly and the Bitch, and let me know, say hi to Sheila and I, tag her, and I will send you a free gift, or free gifts, actually, for doing so. But also, more importantly, contribute to her LinkedIn group as well, Women in the Boardroom. Like I said multiple times, it's a very impressive group of individuals that are really collaborating, dialoguing, on top of mind issues and subjects going on today in business. So, Sheila, thank you so much for being part of Shitting the Bitch. I appreciate it very much.
Well, thank you. It's been— the time has flown and it's been fun. I hope people have learned something. You know, we're also on Twitter too at @BoardroomWomen.
Oh, thank you. I'm sorry about that. Yes, you are.
No, that's okay. Yeah. I appreciate that.
Boardroom Women, absolutely. And we'll make sure that that's all uploaded. You'll be able to go to our radio show channel on ShadingTheBitch.com, everybody, and you'll be able to pull down all of her information from there as well. But thank you again, Sheila. Have a fabulous, beautiful week and enjoy the beautiful weather up in New York City.
Oh, thank you so much. I'll talk to you soon. Okay. Okay, bye-bye.
Bye. Wow, I knew we wouldn't be disappointed, everybody. That was a great contribution that Sheila made to the program and to this overall subject of— I'm glad she emphasized the fact that it doesn't matter if you're pursuing the boardroom. Have goals and aspirations for yourself. And for all of you graduating right now from college, even maybe your MBA or graduate school of some kind, this is the time you should be really laying out what your business career and life goals are. And make, make being on a board and serving, you know, a company and serving the constituents of that company, make that one of your long-term goals. And then leverage Women in the Boardroom and groups like hers. She's like really the only one who specifically focuses on women in the boardroom. But use her resources. Use LinkedIn. Use her Facebook page. Use her to— when you're at the stage that she works directly with you, to really leverage the resources and the tools and the education that she provides. And keeping in mind, too, I can't even explain how important networking is. And I know Sheila— Sheila also attested to that. You do not want to be in a situation where all of a sudden you are going off on your own, or maybe you did lose your job, or you're looking for new opportunities and new projects and initiatives that you can be part of, and yet you haven't nurtured or even worked on building your network. And I'm not saying in quantity. That's a beautiful thing. It can serve some purpose, very little that's value-generating, but quantity is good. But what you really want to do, and what she was emphasizing with that 15 minutes a month, or 15 minutes a week, or whatever you choose to do, she was talking about making sure that even if you were to put a tagline— not a tagline, but a message on your LinkedIn replies, or you do the autoresponders that provide a valuable tool when when you respond after someone's liked you or Facebooked you or tweeted you or whatever the case might be. And more importantly, from a LinkedIn perspective, because it is the most aggressive in growth and expansion professional network right now, really learn how to leverage it. Learn how to make sure that you're personalizing notes and you're not just sending an invitation or a request for— for an invitation that simply uses their standard message. Tailor it. Make it personal. Why this particular person is of interest to you to link in. And in return, when you accept an invitation, send something back as well. I happen to send something back that says, "Thank you very much for linking in with me. Please feel free to tell me a little bit more about yourself and your business goals and objectives and, you know, how I can help you, how I and my network can help you." And then I go on to also tell them a little bit about me and Ball of Fire Consulting and Shedding the Bits, just so they get a small sliver. And then you might, like Sheila was recommending, want to pick up the phone, pick 5 or 10 of them a month and pick up the phone and actually have a conversation with them to learn a little bit more about them. But networking is not about just building a database or a Rolodex. Spreadsheet of names and phone numbers and email addresses. It's about nurturing and finding those influencers, like Sheila mentioned, and finding those people that can help you pursue and achieve whatever career, business, or life goals that you've laid out. All right? And women, again, I think, you know, the whole purpose and value and why I wanted Sheila on the program, too, is You know, she is spurring women to think big, so to speak. You know, taking a board seat requires, you know, like she mentioned, a lot of skill set, a lot of expertise, a lot of leadership, a lot of polishing. If you've heard that word in corporate, you know, you have to be more polished. It takes all of that, and that's okay because that means that you're really building yourself out and refining yourself as a leader in your company, in your community, and in the world. And that is a wonderful thing to aspire to. And like I mentioned in regards to myself and the whole reputation management aspect, you know, I spend a great deal of time now really focused on all of those things that she talked about, because I too want a position on a board one day.. And I want to make sure that when I do, I'm ready and prepared, and I don't have any baggage, so to speak, behind me. Not to say that we don't all have baggage. However, it should be refined. It should be altered, and changed, and transformed. And it's now, you know, in the current being that you are, would want to fit into what it is that a board would be looking for, or any company, or any team, or any client, and quite honestly, any relationship would be looking for. All right. So I thrilled that you joined me today for the program because I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed having a conversation with Sheila. And remember, make sure you listen to the whole program. Make sure you go to Women in the Boardroom on LinkedIn and/or Facebook. Like them, follow them, and then come to our Facebook page, Shedding the Bitch, and let me know, and I will package up my— an autographed copy of my book, Shedding the Corporate Bitch, with a gift or two along with it. Okay? So stay tuned and continue to join in on the community, and I'll look forward to seeing you right back here next Tuesday at noon Eastern time. Take care, everyone. Have a prosperous and rich week. Thank you for listening to Shedding the Bitch Radio with Bernadette Boas.
Join Bernadette every Tuesday at noon Eastern as she helps you shift your bitches to riches. And the dialogue is always going on at sheddingthebitch.com. See you next week.
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