Ten Reasons Why I Relish My Corporate Board Seat

Over the course of my 30-year business career, I’ve been blessed with a host of “highs.” For a small-town girl from Marshville, a tiny hamlet in North Carolina.

I could hardly have imagined as Dr. Seuss wrote, “Oh, the places you will go” and I’ll add….”the talented people I will meet.” In looking back, the pinnacle experience has been (and still is) the opportunity to serve
as an independent director of a NYSE, micro-cap company, Luby’s/Fuddruckers Inc. (LUB).

1. What I learn in a year of board meetings is equivalent to “renewing” my MBA.
2. I get to contribute to corporate strategy at its highest level of complexity.
3. I’ve been part of a board that has guided two beloved restaurant brands, on the brink of demise, back to financial health.
4. I’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with my fellow board members, and our shareholders, to win a hard-fought proxy fight with a hedge fund.
5. I’ve come to appreciate each of our business units’ unique corporate cultures.
6. I’m blessed to work alongside principled and accomplished directors from whom I’m always learning.
7. I’ve come to be comfortable with “productive conflict” even when I’m the sole voice on an issue.
8. I’ve become a better listener and more open-minded to differing perspectives.
9. I’ve learned that my job as a board director is to coach and mentor the executive team. At the end of the day, they run the company.
10. I’ve come to truly prize the individualized passion, wisdom, and wit of my fellow board directors, as well as to deeply appreciate how our skill sets and idiosyncrasies unite us and keep us strong.