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Liam Butler interviews Frances Denz MNZM author of Women at the Top: A Handbook for aspiring women directors. www.stellaris.co.nz $29.95

Frances you state that in Australia and New Zealand 8.7% of directors of major companies are women. What do women need to do make this small percentage?

Since the book was first published in 2009 the number of directors has increased substantially (but nowhere near enough) to about 12.2%
The question of what women need to do to increase this percentage, and indeed their own opportunities include the following:
· Being able to prove their technical competence in governance. That immediately makes you stand out from the crowd. That is why Stellaris developed a qualification in Governance – Certificate in Governance level 7, eight papers. As this is a University level qualification approved by New Zealand Qualification Authority there is a stringent requirement of “proof of learning” with assignments and assessments, unlike short random seminars where there is only proof of attendance.
· We need to treat it as a career with a career plan which includes:
o Focussing on particular areas of expertise
o Skills required to develop at governance level required for chosen sector
o Portfolio of positions held, and what was achieved by those boards and trusts and your contribution to same
o Continual professional development
o Powerful networks with meaningful purpose – not just exchanging business cards
o How we are going to demonstrate that we are better than the “old boys”
o We have to do the hard yards, and be seen to do them
o Build a brand demonstrating competence

You mention at the beginning of Women at the Top that you had a significant health issue as a young women. Many directors have battled personal issues that have helped them develop the resilience required for stressful boardrooms. What is it about women in particular that allow them to develop a prosperous governance culture in a company?

We need to frame our learning experiences positively not negatively! And remember that men, who are the gate keepers are not remotely interested in our struggles and past. We must:
· Never look like a victim or a survivor. Both are negative words. And remember that dogs with their tail between their legs is the dog that gets kicked. We must not look like that!
· We must present as strong, well organised and capable of fierce discussion with no tears or escapism. For the next two or three decades we will be working in a male world until it becomes equal. Therefore we have to understand their language and their belief systems and reflect that, without losing our feminine soul
· When we are equal in numbers our methods will change. Until then we have to work with the current culture, and be prepared to change that culture when we can!
· We do have good people skills and we need to use those to manage our effectiveness on the board. After all we have had centuries of practice at managing the men in our lives. We need to take that skill to the board room and then over time as we develop extreme competence we can change the culture, language and behaviours at the board table
· Our different way of thinking and our different experiences can add significant value to the board as fifty percent of the world are also women. What we have to do is learn to interpret their needs in a way that the men on the board understand, and therefore increase the potential value of an untapped market
And unfortunately as a current minority we have to do better than the men to get the same job. It isn’t fair, but life is not fair.

You explain that Boards and Trusts are looking for a number of components when selecting board members including a person’s ‘Skin’ in the business. What does this mean?

"Skin in the game” is that you have put money in the business and want to increase your rate of return. Certainly you don’t want to lose money! But skin could also be that your reputation is publicly on the line, or, in the case of a small community trust, you desperately need them to survive to provide you with the support which was the reason you became involved. This means you are much more focussed on success than perhaps someone who just turns up for the meetings with no passion.

You state that having a technical skill, say in health, there are a number of businesses where your expertise may come in handy. How can such people ensure they heed the advice of other stakeholders?

Governance is not about representation! You are not there representing a specific sector. You are there for the good as a whole of the organisation. If you take the DHBs for example, and you have had years of experience working in ED you will be able to bring quality knowledge about how the entire hospital works as ED is the lynch pin to the functioning of the entire organisation. But if you are working in a small back room job with little connection with rest of the organisation you may not be able to add value unless you have other major skills to contribute. If you are a lawyer you are NOT there to give legal advice but are there as a person with experience in identifying legal risk in the day to day work of the board.
You suggest that it is important that the board members are there to heed the advice of other stakeholders. Boards are not there to heed stakeholders advice! They are there to work for the company as a whole as opposed to the shareholders or stakeholders. A good organisation will listen to all key stakeholders, but their advice must be taken on merit, as is any other sources of advice.