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How to Get On Boards: Summary of WOB2020 Workshop by Lisa Keglovitz, CHRO Gamestop

Uncategorized May 07, 2020
 

Now more than ever, HR leaders are needed on corporate boards. But, to get on a board, you can't wait for the search firms to call.  There are three critical things you need to do to prepare.

Please watch this 15 minute summary by Lisa Keglovitz, CHRO of GameStop on actionable tips to position yourself for corporate board seats. 

Lisa won this WOB2020  workshop at our last BigHR event and does a great job summarizing it for us. Don't miss it!

No time to watch? See machine generated transcript below.

 Book referenced in the interview:

 https://www.amazon.com/Board-Game-Become-Corporate-Directors/dp/188331898X

 

Machine generated transcript below:

 Hi there. This is Cindy Lu of CHRO partners and I'm here with Lisa Keglovitz, that's a GameStop and Lisa is the chief HR officer. And today we're going to talk about, um, how to get on corporate boards. Lisa just, uh, attended a corporate board workshop. Um, you actually won this class right from there. So we raffled off the workshop at our last big HR event. And so, um, we'd love to hear your top takeaways from this conference. It sounds like it was an amazing day with amazing women,
 

great day with great people and um, and thanks so much Cindy. I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to attend this workshop with these other great women. My three takeaways from the event yesterday was the importance of your network, staying in touch with your network, making sure that you have a board pitch that you can share at any time, whether it's a party, golf course, wherever you happen to be. Um, and then also knowing which committee you can serve on based on your experience.

 

So, not just saying that you want to serve on a corporate board, but also being very specific about the value you can add. So on the first one, um, you know, building your network. Um, why is that so important? Why wouldn't a search firm just call you and ask you to be on a board? So what we heard yesterday from Betsy who um, runs a search firm, no, that is not the way it works. They don't just call. Um, so they,

 

it's all driven by who people know. And so she said typically in a search, what will happen is a board or board members will send her a list of prospective candidates for the board and it's based on referrals within their network. People they know. And then she will go in back those candidates. Occasionally she will have someone that is a candidate that she's come across that she can share with that board. But more often than not, it's driven by the network of those board members, which is why it's so important to maintain your network.

 

And then also make sure people understand that you are interested in serving on a corporate board and the value that you can bring to a corporate board. So what were their suggestions around how to build the right network and you know, get staying in touch. So she came up with some great ideas. Part of those are in her book, but she also shared the importance of mapping out your network. So looking at the corporate leaders that you know within the community, um, your friends that may serve on a board or maybe even know someone who works on a board.

 

Um, and it's looking at companies she provided list as well of companies, was zero females on boards currently. Um, and so do you know anybody at those companies or on their board? Um, can you add someone to your network? And then staying in touch with that network is so critical, so it's not good enough just to have someone in your network, but stay in touch. And one of the items that was shared at the workshop is reconnect with those individuals in your network several times. So,

 

you know, look at your list of networks or contacts in your network and reach out to them frequently. And it could be up to 15 contacts that you make each week with different people in your network. And so that may sound like a lot, but it could be as simple as a text and email or just a quick phone call to check in. Okay. So staying in front of them. Yes. Did they talk about like who are the right people to stay in touch with? Is that the circle that you're talking about to try to figure out?

 

That is the circle and it could be, you know, like I said other corporate leaders that may either serve on a board or know someone that serves on a board or know someone that's a leader in another company or CEO in another company. Um, and it really goes back to building, your circle of influence because she said one really key part of this is your reputation. What are you known for? And the larger you can cast that circle and the more widely known your name will be when it comes up.

 

And when they go to validate you or vet you for a potential board seat, they can speak to numerous people and they can speak to the quality of the job that you do, the work that you do, the value that you add. Alright, very interesting. Um, I believe that about the network. I um, actually started on a corporate board. It was a privately held company, um, back in the Midwest and it was just because I had actually done a lot of work with the CEO.

 

when he was interested in hiring somebody for a board seat. it was interesting cause he, I was helping him figure out the criteria, right? Like my search background, I was kinda like, okay, so, um, you guys are in retail, maybe you need to hire a, somebody from retail, a senior executive from retail. He wanted a female. And then we said, uh, I said, well, and also you, you have your fair share of human capital issues.

 

I'm like, how about a CHRO, you know, from a retailer. It was so funny cause he, you know, he's like, yeah, yeah. And then finally he was like, well, what about you? I'm like, well, I don't have any of those things that you were looking for. Here's the last one. He felt comfortable with me. Oh, that's great. Right? And so yeah, so it was all about the relationship. And sometimes that's even more important than the hard skills,

 

especially, you know, especially if it's a governance board and you're hiring your boss basically. That is correct. That is correct. Um, and so they didn't talk about that. They said that sometimes they won't get those requests from, um, boards where they say, I need this specific skill, or I'm a female or someone who's in a CHRO role or maybe a CFO role or even a CIO role, something to do with technology. Right. So they didn't say that very often they're getting very specific requests for who they're bringing on the board.

 

Um, so to your point, uh, it's important to make sure your skills are out there, people they are, um, and make it's well known what you do.

 

And I thought it was interesting what you said earlier about how they actually get the list of, um,

 

the slate of candidates typically recommended from the board. So expand on that a little bit. So I thought that was very interesting because for me,

 

if I'm going to retain search firm, I am relying on their expertise and their candidates, their candidate pool.

 

And in this scenario, um, she shared that when they get a search from a or search request from board,

 

um, it typically comes with the list of candidates that they want to pursue. They just really want that agency to vet the candidates for them and make sure that they truly are the best fit for their board.

 

And I thought that was really interesting. So, um, you know, the really good, um,

 

search agencies will come back and say, we have some additional candidates for you to consider based on what you're looking for,

 

whether it's HR, it, cybersecurity ever, they're looking for that they can add additional candidates based on who they know.

 

Um, and so she said that's a very valuable resource for us to be able to have a pool of candidates that we can send over to board members when they are looking for specific areas of expertise.

 

Right. So there, the board actually serves up a slate of candidates. We do the search from connect add to it,

 

but for the most part they kind of already have an idea of the circle. So I mean there's really not money in board search work.

 

I mean, you can't, you know, you can't really make a living off board search work. No.

 

So it makes sense that what they're really, the value that they're providing is selection of the right candidate,

 

making sure that the right, um, chemistry, making sure that there's out third party outsider making that decision or helping them make a recommendation.

 

But yeah, that really tells you how important that network is. So, um, so I mean,

 

just to reference her book, this is the book that Lisa was just referring to winning the board game.

 

Um, so, um, Betsy Berkheimer, how do you pronounce her last name? Quadair. Yes,

 

correct. Yep. So we'll reference that in the show notes. Um, the Amazon link for that book if anybody's interested.

 

Um, okay, so the second one tip you had was, or big takeaway you had was make sure you have your board pitch intro,

 

make it really tight. And so why is that so important? Well, it's so important because you are in social settings,

 

or maybe you're on a golf course at dinner and you're meeting with other individuals that maybe have contacts on these companies that you've identified,

 

that you're interested in, where you realize that they have a connection to a board that you're interested in,

 

in serving on. And it's great to have that pitch ready to go that you can share. So it's not just an introduction of you who you are,

 

what you do, but more importantly, what is the experience that's valuable to that company? What is the value that you can add to them?

 

And what, you know, what committee can you serve on? What is that expertise that you're bringing to the organization?

 

And you really want it to be, as you mentioned, tight and concise so they can walk away with,

 

okay, she's interested in serving on a board. This is the experience I just heard about her background.

 

She works for a large company and, and they walk away with some really key points, um, that they can keep top of mind.

 

So if there is a board opening, they've got a top of mind, Oh I just talked to this individual and she's got this experience.

 

So it's really important to have that ready to go because as we practice this yesterday, several times, you know,

 

what we found is you do need to practice and you need to refine it and you also have to refine it based on the board that you're interested in pursuing because there may be different boards that are looking for different experience.

 

So it's important to refine that based on the board that you're interested in pursuing or the individual you're speaking to.

 

So you've got real life feedback, like analyze feedback. Yes, all day. So I know you're maybe still in draft form,

 

I'm going to put you on the spot. Would you mind reading yours to it? I can do that and doesn't draft form and open for feedback,

 

so provide that later. You definitely can. So my, my pitch after several revisions is just an introduction,

 

so I'll share that with you. Um, hi, my name is Lisa<inaudible> and I'm the global chief human resource officer for GameStop,

 

the largest global video game retailer. It's a $6 billion company with 5,500 locations, 40,000 employees in 13 countries with a new CEO on board.

 

We have launched a comprehensive transformation project at GameStop. We are focused on transformation of our organization, our stores and our online or eCommerce experience.

 

I have over 25 years of retail experience with both store operations and HR experience and store operations. I manage the labor budget of over $450 million.

 

I serve on a nonprofit board currently the DFW REA or retail executive association. I have extensive contacts in the retail industry that I can bring to any board that I serve on.

 

I intend to serve on a corporate board in the next 18 months. I'm looking for a board that can benefit from my expertise in human resources at GameStop.

 

I have experience with the comp committee and I am immediately qualified to serve on a comp committee. Thank you.

 

That's awesome. So I love that I'm immediately qualified. Yes. And talk to me about some of the power words or some of the critique like that they provided to you and the other attendees.

 

Absolutely. I always tell you we did not start with immediately qualified. We all started with words that hedged it a little bit.

 

Um, I'm interested in serving on the comp committee. I feel could add value on the comp committee and she and Betsy,

 

the author of the books said scratch that, put in, I am immediately qualified to serve on and then fill in the blank,

 

whichever committee it is. Um, you know also talked about quantifying dollar amounts. So, um, I mentioned how large our company is.

 

$6 billion company. What's the largest budget you've managed? If you managed a P and L make sure you put those dollar amounts in there.

 

Because you know, business leaders, board of directors, they want to know what financial responsibility you've had and put in,

 

put in detail. So when we talk about transformation at GameStop, , several companies are going through the transformation projects currently or turnarounds and um,

 

and are looking for board members that have experience in that. She said, so if you're doing any transformation work,

 

make sure you put that in your board pitch as well. Um, and then if you're serving on a nonprofit board or if you have any other board experience,

 

make sure you put that in there. And then as well, um, you know, work with the comp committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee.

 

Uh, but she said with the HR background says you're immediately qualified to serve on that comp committee. Make sure you include that.

 

Really emphasize that, leave it as a key point instead of leaving one or the other as an option.

 

Yeah, cause people don't remember two things, right? So make it simple. One contract. Let me just remember one thing about you.

 

And I think definitely comp committee, um, experiences highly, highly valuable, um, to corporate boards today.

 

Correct. That's what she says. So we value her, her opinions and feedback and we all tailored our pitch.

 

We also captured a few key words on items that we can add to a refined board pitch if needed on the conversation that we're having.

 

Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting because, um, I put together advisory board in the Midwest and I had two CHRO,

 

I was on my advisory board. Um, we're a small company and we had a governance board, but,

 

um, we needed, um, more advice than that. And so, especially with our business within the,

 

you know, in the people business and it was invaluable. Um, and so it may be a little bit different perhaps with private companies,

 

that is current, right? So maybe what they're looking for might be a little bit different.

 

But if you haven't worked at a big corporate, um, public company, then maybe have to really talk about your private company experience and the things that would be more,

 

did they bring that up at all or are they, they did. They did. We actually talked about,

 

, privately held companies. We talked to advisory boards. We actually talked about, um, commissions and different ways that you can serve and get experience.

 

Um, so she shared a wide array of ways that you can get involved. So even looking at nonprofits,

 

can you get into a large national nonprofit? Um, you know, we talked about American heart association or March of dimes or boys and girls clubs.

 

Could you get into a large nonprofit and get some more experience? Um, you know, one of the other pieces of advice,

 

if you get into, um, a nonprofit or, or any other type of advisory board, any,

 

any place that there's an opportunity to serve as a treasurer. She goes, that's great. She goes that way.

 

You understand the financial workings of the company or organization that you're working with. Um, and she goes,

 

so if you, if you're qualified and you can take that on, she goes, I highly recommend it.

 

It's a great way to add value, but also understand the value of the organization that you're working with.

 

Yeah, that's great advice. I actually had a friend in the Midwest too. She sat on many,

 

many, um, nonprofits just because that's kind of where her heart was. And yes, she's single him then,

 

you know, kids to take care of. But she, um, she took care of a lot of nonprofits and as a result of her nonprofit work and all,

 

I mean her really getting engaged. Um, she had asked to be on several public boards built to that.

 

And then she, I mean her firm at the time was maybe a $10 million firm, so it wasn't even a big organization,

 

but she got asked to be on several public boards and she, she's amazing. She actually ended up donating all her board earnings,

 

um, back to the nonprofit. That's fantastic. What a great, yeah, it's pretty cool. Um,

 

so what kind of, um, network did you build within? I mean, just at the workshop?

 

What kind of folks were there at the workshop? It was phenomenal. We had a group of 18 women who are CEOs,

 

CFOs, CMOs, CA, CHROs of women with experience in every aspect. Cybersecurity, technology, digital transformation,

 

uh, healthcare, um, energy, everything was represented. And so what we were able to do is learn from each other.

 

Um, you know, not only from each other's experience, but we all connected. Yesterday on LinkedIn.

 

We got each other's email addresses. A few people have already reached out to me today, uh, via LinkedIn,

 

just sent over a few messages. Um, I helped one individual, gave her a contact in a way to help her students.

 

She's teaching at SMU. Um, so connected her with another group in Dallas. Um, so we've already started,

 

uh, connecting with each other and in a real and meaningful way. So we've got a group of,

 

you know, 17 other women now that we can all connect with and we're all committed to helping each other.

 

Um, because that was one of the other things that was shared, um, from our Celia Costa yesterday at the meeting is that empowered women empower women.

 

So how can we help raise each other up and bring each other along on this journey. That's awesome.

 

Well, Lisa, this is fantastic. Um, I think that, uh, a lot of people are gonna want to sign up for this workshop next year when it comes back around.

 

So it's great. And what I've learned from Betsy is that they are doing this across the U S so they are branching out and doing this in multiple studies.

 

Um, so she's got more to come. It will be, will be great. Oh, that's awesome.

 

All right, so I would say if you're interested in, learning more about this in detail,

 

this is amazing book that Betsy wrote called winning the board game. Um, I'll provide a link to Amazon,

 

um, so that you can pick it up yourself. But it's got, you know, just stories.

 

I mean, I love it because stories of different women and how they, um, achieve those board seats.

 

So, um, I think, uh, just, uh, hearing those stories can be inspiring. Absolutely.

 

Alright. Thanks so much, Lisa. Thank you, Cindy. I appreciate it.

 

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