By Cory Munchbach—board member, former Blueconic CEO, faculty member of the Athena Board Readiness Course
One of the catchiest bars from Hamilton is Aaron Burr singing, with increased desperation, “I wanna be in the room where it happens / I’ve gotta be in the room where it happens.”
For some, that room is the boardroom—a space of influence, access, and prestige. But what often gets overlooked amid the ambition, luck, and effort it takes to get there is what unfolds once you’ve arrived. It may cause you to wonder if you did, in fact, want to be in the room.
Joining a board, especially a public or large privately-held company board, is a rare accomplishment and a clear recognition of your professional achievements. Ironically, the moment you enter this exclusive professional tier, you often become the most ‘junior’ person in the room—a position you likely haven’t experienced in years. The blend of pride and anxiety going into this is common and intense! For all the work you put in to build up the credentials and position yourself to get onto a board, the real work begins when you gain admission to the room.
Yet, for almost every scenario in corporate America, there is ample guidance on how to be “new” again: a new employee, a new CEO, a new manager, etc. There is also a fair amount about how to get on a Board (e.g. from McKinsey’s board practice); a lot about what makes for a good Board (e.g. from the NACD) and good Director (e.g. from Roger Martin); and plenty about the problematic lack of diversity on Boards (e.g. from Deloitte’s Missing Pieces Report). The gap in all the available material is that pivotal period after you join a Board, particularly for the first time, and how to approach the first ~90 days and the first year in the role. And, as governance expert Erin Essenmacher says, “If you’ve seen one board, you’ve seen on one board.” There’s only so much prior art you can and should draw from even if this isn’t your first rodeo.
Two traps, at opposite ends of the behavioral spectrum, to be mindful of right away:
I know…already a high-stakes tension to navigate and you haven’t even had a board meeting! Yes, you need to actively add value and demonstrate your credibility, but how you do it matters. Focus on patience and taking a longer view, which that allows you to build credibility and impact over time. As serial entrepreneur and investor Reid Hoffman put it when interviewing Mellody Hobson about board dynamics, “This can be a really tricky dance. If you’re brand-new to the group, you don’t want to spout off before you have understanding. But, you also don’t want to fail to contribute.” (It’s worth listening to the entire conversation between Hoffman and Hobson in this episode of Masters of Scale called “Build a Better Board.)
Here are three ways to successfully manage that tricky dance, both in preparation for your first board meeting and over the first full year in the seat:
The goal here is to come into your first meeting with as much historical context and clarity of purpose as possible which then allows you to find the right way to contribute your perspective.
The question(s) should be clearly relevant (based on something in the board materials for that meeting, for instance); likely to evoke discussion or thoughtful responses from a range of people in the room; and genuinely curious and humble – something you don’t have a firm answer for yourself. Another approach is to ask about metrics that you’ve seen used in other contexts that the company isn’t reporting on or using, but could be applicable and helpful. A recent Athena salon with governance experts and experienced board members Rob Galford and Erin Essenmacher discussed the anatomy of a good question and share a framework to help get to the heart of any item on the board agenda.
This advice is just as relevant throughout your board tenure, but it’s particularly relevant for the first few cycles when you are still getting up to speed on the business and board – especially its personalities.
The body language, tone of voice, frequency of contribution, type of contribution, clarity of thought, and quality of engagement from each of the individuals in the room are a veritable gold mine of insight that a new Director should observe keenly – for their own benefit as well as for the overall health of the board and its culture. Take the fact that the 2024 edition of PwC’s Annual Corporate Directors Survey found that nearly half of board members (45%) report that one or two voices dominate the board. Nearly half (49%) want at least one other director removed and a full quarter (25%) say two or more need to go. Clearly, it’s important to understand the dynamics at play and how best to participate and influence them going forward.
So much has been written about how women and under-represented groups on boards face considerable additional pressure, whether the double-bind of warmth and competence; the tendency for white men to speak far more than directors from other demographic identities; and the prominent feelings of tokenization and isolation by under-represented directors. There is zero question that these obstacles can make it more challenging for directors that are members of less diverse boards. That said, part of being in the room where it happens is that you get the opportunity to change those dynamics. If not you, then who? If not now, then when? Every step is progress, even if you don’t see or feel it at the time.
A great board member asks good questions that move the business forward and builds trusted relationships – two things that can only be accomplished by high integrity people who are curious and humble in their approach to being a director. To set yourself up for long term success on a board, use your first quarter and first year to establish a foundation of context, knowledge, and substance by over-preparing, offering inquiry-based perspective, and observing personalities – all of which will ensure you make the most of being in the room where it happens.
© Athena Alliance 2025
