背后的陰暗

????這些是不是聽起來太完美，以至于不太真實？的確，這看似美好的圖景背后也有陰暗一面。

????有經(jīng)驗的應(yīng)聘者通常會比新手更受青睞，這并不奇怪。即使他們曾擔(dān)任董事的那些公司陷入了麻煩，他們在競爭董事會席位的過程中也會更有優(yōu)勢。洛克中心的報告指出，“如果一個人曾經(jīng)在出現(xiàn)過重大的會計或倫理問題的公司擔(dān)任首席執(zhí)行官，那么只有37%的董事認為他能夠成為稱職的董事會成員，而對于曾經(jīng)在類似公司擔(dān)任董事的人來說，這一比例卻高達67%?！?/p>

????加入董事會的另一個困難是必須吸引到他人的關(guān)注。根據(jù)女性公司董事協(xié)會的調(diào)查，78%的董事會成員并不需要自己去尋覓他們的第一份董事會職位。大多數(shù)應(yīng)聘者都是受邀參加面試的。專業(yè)人際網(wǎng)絡(luò)對于獲得面試機會非常關(guān)鍵。但是，女性通常缺乏機會接觸到這類圈子，參與調(diào)查的董事會成員們認為董事會女性比例不足的主要原因也正在于此。

????除了人際關(guān)系，當(dāng)然，更為重要的是，要讓合適的人賞識你，你還需要一些技能，而這些技能是其他董事所看重的，比如運作企業(yè)或者財務(wù)決策的能力?，F(xiàn)在，希望吸收新人的董事會擴大了范圍，希望新成員掌握更多樣化的經(jīng)驗。女性公司董事系會的調(diào)查結(jié)果指出，近半數(shù)董事認為當(dāng)今的董事會缺乏某些專門技術(shù)。史賓沙管理顧問咨詢公司表示，約有30%的董事正在尋求增加董事會的新技能。然而，即便如此，分析和概念思考技能通常是董事會所遺漏的考察項目。

????“人際化學(xué)作用”這條術(shù)語，或者說你與其他董事會成員和諧共事的能力在董事會調(diào)研中經(jīng)常會用到。這一點可能會左右是否聘用的決定。直至今天，如果要填補董事會職位空缺，吹毛求疵的麻煩人物通常都被排除在外。

????22 %的人能夠積極主動地尋找第一份董事會職位并最終獲得該職位，而不是一味坐等伯樂的出現(xiàn)。就算是這22%中的成員，最終如愿獲得董事職位可能會需要一段時間。根據(jù)女性公司董事協(xié)會的調(diào)查，女性平均要花2.3年，而男性平均需要1.7年。

三思而后行

????一旦掃清了這些障礙，公司董事就可能成為一份非常誘人的工作。但同時，你也將面臨兩難的境地。因為，既然這份工作這么好，你將來愿意舍棄嗎？你真的能獨立地表達自己的想法，承擔(dān)艱巨的挑戰(zhàn)嗎？

????即使你并不是薪酬委員會的成員，如果你對首席執(zhí)行官的薪水持有異議，你會大膽說出來嗎？還是在董事會會議中保持緘默（或者是像某些董事會成員那樣轉(zhuǎn)而向我發(fā)牢騷）？你是否會就很棘手的問題主動開啟討論，詢問有深度的問題，還是等等看是否有其他人率先發(fā)言？

????你可能認為自己已經(jīng)做好擔(dān)任公司董事的準(zhǔn)備。事實可能的確如此，但還是請三思而后行。要知道，你對公司和首席執(zhí)行官的監(jiān)督工作做得好不好，關(guān)系到我國經(jīng)濟會得到鞏固還是遭到削弱，關(guān)系到建立起公眾對美國商界和資本市場的信任，還是助長人們的不滿情緒。

????不是所有人都有道義上的勇氣來承擔(dān)這份工作。如果你沒有，那么就請幫幫忙，不要申請這份工作。

????Eleanor Bloxham是董事資訊公司價值同盟和公司治理同盟公司的首席執(zhí)行官(http://thevaluealliance.com)。

????譯者：李玫曉/汪皓

The obstacles

????Does this all sound too good to be true? Well, there is a dark side to this otherwise rosy picture.

????What's not too surprising is that experienced board candidates often get preference over newcomers. And even if these experienced directors have served on the board of a problem company, they are still very much in the running for that board seat you may desire. According to the Rock Center report, "While only 37% of directors believe that an ex-CEO of a company that experienced substantial accounting or ethical problems can be a good board member, 67% believe a director of a similarly-plagued company can."

????Another challenge in landing that board seat: you need to get noticed. According to WCD, 78% of board members don't have to seek their first board position; most candidates are invited to interview and professional networks are critical to getting that interview. Still today, women tend to lack access to these networks, and directors surveyed cited this as the primary reason for women's disappointing representation on boards.

????Besides knowing people -- and, more importantly, having the right people know you -- you also need skills that other directors value, such as running a business or making financial decisions. But boards looking for new members are broadening the kinds of experience that they desire. Nearly half of directors believe there are areas of expertise missing on their boards today, according to the WCD survey, and almost 30% are looking to add new skills to the board, according to Spencer Stuart. Even with these changes, however, analytical and conceptual thinking skills are too often missing from these lists.

????The term "chemistry," or your ability to work collegially with the other members, is often used in board searches, and it can make or break the hiring decision. Even today, prickly devil's advocates are not often sought to fill these spots.

????And if you are one of the 22% who, rather than waiting to be discovered, actively searches for that first board position and eventually gets one, it can still take a while: 2.3 years on average for women and 1.7 years for men, according to WCD.

Look before you leap

????Still, if you clear these hurdles, a board seat can be a very appealing job. But there's the rub. Because with a job that great, will you be willing to leave it? Will you really be independent, speak your mind, and take on the tough challenges?

????Even if you don't sit on the compensation committee, will you speak up when you disagree with CEO pay or will you keep your mouth shut in the boardroom (and, as some board members do, complain to me instead)? Will you broach the really difficult subjects, ask deep questions, or wait to see if someone else speaks first?

????You may think you are ready to sit on a board. And maybe you are. But think twice. How you do the job of overseeing a corporation and a CEO has the power to strengthen our economy or weaken it, to build trust in corporate America and our capital markets, or feed growing cynicism.

????Not everyone has the moral courage to do the job. If you don't, please do everyone a favor: don't apply.

????Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (http://thevaluealliance.com), a board advisory firm.