Abstract
It begins with curiosity – What would it be like to be a main board director? Am I good enough? If the traffic lights stay green as you move up the hierarchy, your curiosity makes you alert for the weak signals the less curious would miss; that the powers that be in and around your organization see you as a star and, by implication, a potential main board member. Your “why?” becomes “why not?” Your self-confidence grows. You begin to believe that you are good enough and no insuperable obstacles bar the way. Belief becomes a wish and the wish becomes an intent.
If you’re tempted by this, why would you say no? If you’ve got this far, why would you not go for it?
Sir Philip Hampton, chairman, J Sainsbury plc
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References
Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene 3.
Don Juan, Canto VI, st. 2.
Executive Compensation Review, Incomes Data Services, 2006.
Woman’s Hour: from Joyce Grenfell to Sharon Osbourne: Celebrating Sixty Years of Women’s Lives, various authors, BBC, 2006, also available in hardback.
How many women do boards need?” Harvard Business Review, December 2006.
The Female FTSE Report, Cranfield University School of Management, 2006.
Innovative Potential: Men and Women in Teams, The Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business, London Business School, 2007.
“Owl, fox, donkey or sheep: political skills for managers,” Simon Baddeley and Kim James, Management Education and Development, 18(1), 1987, pp. 3–19.
Copyright information
© 2008 Peninah Thomson, Jacey Graham and Tom Lloyd
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Thomson, P., Graham, J., Lloyd, T. (2008). Deciding to engage. In: A Woman’s Place is in the Boardroom. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230583955_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230583955_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-35889-2
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-58395-5
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