6 months already of being a trustee board member

It’s time to reflect over the last six months of being a trustee board member of a National Bereavement Charity. (Cue serious face in the picture )

Wow, time flies, and after a three-hour virtual board meeting today with Cruse Scotland, I can’t believe it’s already been six months.

It’s incredible how quickly we adjust to new surroundings, experiences, and requirements we put on ourselves.

Being on a board has always interested me, but words like ‘Governance’ were like kryptonite, especially trom a creative background.

Add imposter syndrome with the vulnerability of, ‘What value can I offer?’ This initially held me back from applying, and I even asked this during the interview process.

Luckily for me, the team at Cruse Scotland have such a welcoming and caring personality that makes you feel at home. Plus, they have a cracking sense of humour, something you don’t expect from a bereavement charity.

So yeah, some reflections:

• Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and put yourself out there. Moving into the uncomfortable helps you grow as a person and a business leader.
  
• Your opinions matter, as does your experience. A board with different backgrounds avoids a homogenous group of people with the same viewpoints.
  
• Having your own business, you do things like governance daily, and it’s not scary. It’s like managing your finances and looking towards the future, all things you do.
  
• It’s not as time-consuming as you might imagine. Today, we chatted over everything from finance, governance, comms, etc, while I sipped over a few coffees and was bitten by a 12-week-old puppy. Sometimes, we need to be in person and join the other committee groups, but it’s a shared responsibility.

That’s it for now. I am looking forward to the next six months and beyond.

What’s your experience of being on a board, or are you holding back from jumping on board (see what I did there)?