Want a NED appointment? Understanding the Fundamental Attribution Error is fundamental

Aspiration, Articulation, and Application are the three pillars to successfully gaining a non-executive director (NED) appointment. If you get any of them wrong, your approach will be unstructured, frustrating, and time-consuming. Leaving you no option but to give up on your board aspirations and quit your search. But there is a better way, but you need to consider the Fundamental Attribution Error.

A better way

With approximately 65% of all UK board appointments occurring through personal connections, it is the most successful approach you should adopt when searching for a NED role.  This approach requires you to make connections, have conversations and, most importantly, start telling people you are looking for a NED appointment. This is surprisingly easy to do, but as always, the devil is in the details, and your response can make or break your success.

When you start sharing your board aspirations with people, you must be ready for their subsequent question – ‘What sort of board are you looking for?’ As such, defining your Aspirations – the organisation you want and realistically can be appointed to. Defining this list must be your first step, and being specific with your aspirations is critical. Review my recent article, which covers the eight questions to ask yourself to help you develop a list of your target organisations. Once you have your target list, you must be specific when discussing your targets during these conversations.

Why do you need to be so specific?

Why must you be so specific? The answer is the Fundamental Attribution Error. You may ask what the Fundamental Attribution Error is. Malcolm Gladwell writes about this in his bestselling book, Tipping Point. He writes that the Fundamental Attribution Error stems from the fact that many ‘instinctively want to explain the world around them in terms of people’s essential attributes.’

In other words, people do not take into account the setting, culture or external influences when meeting people (and remembering people). Instead, they focus on immediately graspable facts. So, ignorant of context, people will peg or brand you in one way or another and are unlikely to hold differing views simultaneously. This occurs even more when you do not provide them with specific details and context. They will fill the gaps with assumptions, often incorrect or vague assumptions.

What does the Fundamental Attribution Error have to do with your board search?

Imagine you were at an event, formal or informal, such as an annual conference, picking your kids up at the school gate, a sporting fixture, an industry dinner or a friend’s barbeque. You get talking to someone, and they ask you what you do. What do you say? Like many, you will likely jump straight to your executive role, with the conversation unlikely to shift far from this topic. However, if you desire a NED appointment, then the subject of these discussions must change.

Ask yourself – how people you meet and those who know will peg you. What do they commit to memory about you? Is it an aspiring or existing board member or director? Whether you are talking to someone for the first time or a close friend or colleague, it is up to you not to let the Fundamental Attribution Error take effect. You can frame or reframe how people ‘peg’ you by providing sufficient details.

Most people, particularly those yet to hold a board role, are usually not associated with the role of a board directorship or aspiring to serve as a Non-Executive Director (NED). Instead, they are more likely branded or pegged based on a relationship (father, mother, sibling, friend, colleague, neighbour), executive role or career, or extracurricular participation and interests. If you want a board appointment, it is up to you to influence how people peg you and what they commit to memory. What they are likely to recall should they have a conversation with someone looking for what you offer.

Here’s how you get pegged as a Non-Executive Director

You should:

• Tell people: Remember, they only know what you tell them, so tell them about your board aspirations. That means you must avoid framing yourself as an executive, friend, colleague or an unknown quantity. For example, if you meet someone for the first time…
  Them: ‘Nice to meet you. What do you do?’
  You: ‘I am a Non-Executive Director/Building a board career and…’
• Be Specific: Never be general, such as suggesting that you ‘can do everything’. Be clear about what sort of organisation you are targeting the board of. Don’t be generic, or you risk being easily forgettable. Being specific will make it clear who you can help and how you can help.
• Be Passionate: Tell people what you are passionate about – but make sure you can demonstrate that passion.
• Be Valuable: Understand the pressures of your target boards and the pain points they are dealing with. Know your skills and why they are valuable to those and similar boards. Always be able to answer the question: “Why should they appoint you?”.

Why is this so important?

I mentioned earlier that 65% of people are appointed to boards via a personal connection. What I didn’t mention was that approximately 50% of all board appointments occur via someone you meet rarely or infrequently. I refer to these contacts and connectors as weak ties.  As such, it is critical that you leave all that you meet or have conversations with a clear understanding of your board aspirations. That includes weak ties.

They only know what you tell them, so tell them you are a Non-Executive, building a board portfolio, or looking for your first directorship. 

What does it all mean for your board search?

With those you meet committing minimal details about you and the conversation to memory, first impressions count. As such, when having these conversations during your board search, the Fundamental Attribution Error means that people only know and can remember what you tell them.

So it’s unlikely that you will be pegged and remembered as a Non-Executive without specifically telling people of your board aspirations. This means changing the language you use to introduce yourself.

But let’s apply this theory to other aspects of the NED appointment process. Consider the potential impact of the Fundamental Attribution Error when writing your NED CV and Board Applications and during Board Interviews. Tell them exactly what you want them to know; don’t give them the opportunity to make assumptions. Its impact is truly a crucial part of your board search and should revolutionise the way you frame yourself.

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