Your transcript

[00:00:00] Gillian: How do you make the leap from a senior leadership role to a seat in the boardroom? Now, this is the question many of you have been asking lately and today's guest, Beck Wilson has not only made that leap, but has truly excelled in it. I've had the privilege of knowing Beck for several years now. We first met maybe about eight years ago.
[00:00:21] Gillian: I was facilitating a panel at an event and I immediately knew she was someone to keep an eye on. And I'm sure you'll feel the same after hearing our conversation. Watching Beck's journey from global leadership roles, including her time as CEO, to a flourishing non-executive board career has been nothing short of inspiring.
[00:00:42] Gillian: She's now a company director across multiple ASX listed private and non for profit boards. Her path has been interesting because it's been both organic and intentional, and this is something that will become even clearer once we uncover her story and her experiences in our conversation today. Beck offers a very unique perspective on what it really takes to prepare for a board role and what life behind those boardroom doors is actually like. Her passion for getting more women onto boards comes from her own experience, and I've got to tell you, she is full of practical advice for those of you looking to follow a similar path. You're going to love this conversation.
[00:01:23] Gillian: This episode is about more than just checking off boxes. It's about building a strong foundation well in advance and Beck shares these insights into what shaped her journey; from the importance of truly understanding the business environment to the power of maintaining your networks and staying relevant in a business world that's constantly evolving.
[00:01:45] Gillian: So whether you're thinking about a board role in the near future or preparing for one down the line, this conversation with Beck Wilson is filled with invaluable tips and wisdom. Let's dive in.
[00:01:57] Gillian: Well, Beck, welcome to the podcast. It's a pleasure to have you here today.
[00:02:51] Bec: Thanks so much for having me on the podcast, Gil. Um, it's really a topic that I'm so excited to speak about today.
[00:02:58] Gillian: Well, me too, because we have known each other for several years now. And while I don't know all the details, but I know how intentional you've been and successful you've been in transitioning from executive to non-executive roles. You've successfully crafted a new career as a company director across private ASX companies, non for profits, after being a CEO.
[00:03:21] Gillian: So my question Beck is like, what inspired you to take that shift and has the reality, has it met your expectations? Has there been any huge surprises?
[00:03:31] Bec: So Gil, I'd start off by saying that I think the process has been more osmosis rather than really sort of hard strategy. And I think if I think about it, it really links back to some of the characteristics on how I've really approached my work and that's around openness for opportunity, for discussions and I suppose a bit of serendipity as well. And when I think about my first opportunity, it actually came about 15 years ago when I joined a not-for-profit company or group called Outcomes Australia and it was established by a colleague and friend from my Sydney days, a man named Marvin Weinman and was chaired by the former Governor General, Major General Michael Jeffery.
[00:04:09] Bec: And it had, it was an incredible experience because I had the opportunity to work with someone like Michael, but it was also a really exceptional board to start with because it had such a strong purpose. But if I think then about my first commercial board with an ASX listed company, and that was Alcidion back in 2017.
[00:04:28] Bec: Alcidion was really at the earlier stages of its sort of commercial activation and was midway through a transformative acquisition. They were looking for an NED who had experience in investor relations, capital deployment, stakeholder communication. And I was actually referred by several institutional fund managers.
[00:04:46] Bec: And I actually approached it with really low expectations. I thought, first opportunity to have a conversation, unlikely that I'm going to be the successful candidate, but fantastic experience to, to go through and, you know, as I started to think about what the future would look like. Clearly the interview went well because I was offered that role, became chair two years later and I'm in that position today.
[00:05:09] Bec: So, it has been a little bit more of osmosis rather than that really sort of hard strategy of I want to go from here to here.
[00:05:20] Gillian: It's an interesting one because so many of the women that I get to coach who are mid-level leaders, they have aspirations Beck to create the sort of career that you have, but I feel like the gap, and that's why our conversation is so important today is really trying to understand bridge.
[00:05:37] Gillian: You know what I mean? That senior leadership versus what does it look like behind the curtain of the non-executive role? Maybe you can share with us, like, what is the hardest part of that transition?
[00:05:48] Bec: I'd say what I found really interesting around my journey is, is that all of my NED roles have come from referral.
[00:05:57] Bec: That is one of the big messages I've got to the listeners today. It's around really maintaining that network. When you do good work as an executive, whether that be the colleagues that you're working with or if you have customers and clients, the work that you're doing. They are your absolute biggest advocates and every single one of my opportunities, because I'm, chair of Elcidion, Chair of LBT Innovations and sit on the board of Hansen Technologies. So three ASX boards, every single one of them has come through a referred process rather than a formal recruitment process.
[00:06:33] Bec: And so I think that's a really big message. I think as, I started to think about stepping more into a non-executive director career from the executive, I think the hardest challenge has really been around going from someone who's always been really action oriented and how do you still bring those characteristics, particularly to small boards, to have a really profound impact on those boards, but without stepping over the boundary of the delineation between executive and non-executive director. And I think that's been probably the biggest learning is really finding the balance between being an active director but also, you know, knowing that you've got a fantastic operational team in place and that you're there to guide. It's actually more about what's in your head and what you're speaking to than your fingers touching the keyboard.
[00:07:23] Gillian: Mm. And that's a big difference, right? Because, being, yes hands on, as you say, and action orientated, going back into the business and making those adjustments versus talking about them, making decisions about them, and then empowering other people to do it.
[00:07:41] Bec: Absolutely. And I think sometimes, particularly in those early days, that transition from thinking like an executive to thinking like a non-executive, it really does take some conscious consideration to step back and go, am I fulfilling the role that this board needs from me and how do I sort of navigate that?
[00:08:00] Bec: And again, it is quite a hard one to get right and to balance because I. absolutely believe that directors do need to be active. They're there for a reason. Okay. We're not there just as a name. We are there for a reason. I am there because I've got expertise and skills in this particular area.
[00:08:17] Bec: So I want to make sure that I'm able to influence those areas and then I can help, I can open a door if that's what's required. So, it is really about sort of balancing those things, I think.
[00:08:27] Gillian: Now, talk to us about the referrals. Like, in your previous world, you had a broad network of really great humans, really. So you, you were exposed to cultivating some really good relationships. Did you ever put it on the table to people that, you know, maybe you would be interested? I know you said it was organic, but I think a lot of women will be going, you know, how do I need to think about this?
[00:08:50] Gillian: If I wanted to land in that spot in 10, 15 years, when it comes to my networking, what do I need to do differently?
[00:08:57] Bec: It's a great question and I do feel that I have been fortunate in that my journey has been one where the first opportunity then was the catalyst to the second opportunity, which was then the catalyst of the third opportunity. So, I suppose my point is, is once you get in and you start on your first board work gets around pretty quickly in terms of the type of impact that you have.
[00:09:20] Bec: But not everybody gets that first opportunity as perhaps as easy and maybe easy is not the right word because I'm sure it was the years of the work that I'd done previous to that, that gave me the opportunity. But I'll give you an example of where I would really sort of steer any of our listeners that are thinking about a non-executive director career and that is there are some fantastic groups out there and there are some formal ones like Women on Boards and certainly AICD that are fantastic. But what I found really powerful is some of the informal ones. So once a month, there's a group of Melbourne based directors that get together.
[00:09:54] Bec: Most of them are working in the healthcare or life sciences area. Some of them are very experienced non-executive directors and others are aspiring non-executive directors who are sort of still in that senior roles and starting to think about it, and that has been a fabulous environment for some of those who are directors to come and just learn like, and again, it's learning just by association.
[00:10:18] Bec: We talk about some of the challenges. We understand the expertise and the capabilities of people within the group, we're actively referring them to roles when we see them coming up, we're helping them to guide around some of those sorts of steps. So it's very unusual to go from an executive career straight on to say an ASX listed board.
[00:10:38] Bec: So what are the steps before that? You know, there is being on your school council. There’s the local kindergarten committee. There’s a whole range of NFPs that are looking for earlier stage directors. So there's lots of ways that you can get that early experience, but I just find the invaluable nature of just hearing from other directors and understanding their journey, but more importantly, advocating for them.
[00:11:02] Bec: So we are really advocating for women to be at the table for these new roles and I think the other thing though, Gill, too, is it's not just about women. It’s women with really diverse backgrounds. And so, if we look back 15 years ago, non-executive directors tended to be from two, really two areas. They were from the legal industry or they were from the finance industry.
[00:11:24] Bec: But boards have come such a long way where they really recognise having a diverse group of directors around the table. And that'll be gender, that'll be age, that'll be experience. You know and people with backgrounds like me in comms and marketing who really understand stakeholder behaviours, who naturally understand the risk environment are really in high demand. And I think that's a great opportunity if you're sitting out there to go, I have something that can really add value to a board in the future.
[00:11:56] Gillian: I love hearing that, Beck. Because I know our listeners will love hearing that too.
[00:12:34] I wonder, and I'm going completely off script, Beck. So bear with me. Did you have to get good at your pitch? Like, who are you? What do you bring to the table in this new world? Did you have to refine that, or did people create it for you?
[00:12:48] Bec: think it's a bit of both, but I do think when you think about, you need to have a profile, so if someone's asking about your experience, and the one thing I would say is you can't just polish off your executive profile. Here's what I've done in an executive role and it's hard because you go, okay, but I haven't done a board role, so I don't quite know how to present that information.
[00:13:08] Bec: But what you've done in an executive role, you've got to think about how would you apply that in the board environment. So it's not about doing the work. It's about how would it inform the direction of a business or how they might consider a decision that needs to be made in the board environment.
[00:13:23] Bec: So you definitely do need to think about that profile and that CV. And certainly there are formal processes and recruiters. And so then I would be thinking about what are the other things that you're doing to build your expertise outside of executive and go and do the AICD course. It’s not a prerequisite, but it is strongly valued, and I do think that it gives all non-executive directors, a fantastic foundation of really understanding the governance and fiduciary responsibility. I mean, you're taking on a huge responsibility, so it's really important that you understand that. So being able to do things like that, but also what's going to be your point of difference.
[00:14:03] Bec: So if you are reading anything. Like the AICD magazine is fantastic to really understand what are some of the macro issues and challenges or opportunities that boards are considering and how well placed am I to be able to contribute to those. So I'll give you an example. ESG, cyber security, are two really big areas that every single board is looking to its directors to be able to contribute to.
[00:14:29] Bec: So, you know, go and do an ESG course, understand, the role that ESG is going to be playing in Australia, both from a regulatory perspective, but also from a moral perspective as well. That's where you can really get a step up. Even if you've had no experience as a non-executive director, you can start to get a step up on, really positioning yourself as someone who can make a contribution to areas that are absolutely on the radar.
[00:14:55] Gillian: Yeah, they're such great tips, Beck. I love those. They're such practical and accessible things that, you know what I mean, women can go and do. And I think it just gives them a fresh set of eyes, too, because it does look like this intangible goal sometimes without the practical steps. I also think there's a bit of ambiguity. What happens behind the curtain when everyone's sitting around that board table. What makes a good board in your mind? Like what, what makes the good dynamics from your experiences?
[00:15:23] Bec: Look, it's such a great question and if we could only be a fly on the wall when decisions are being made in the boardroom, particularly those that we see playing out in the media and under huge public scrutiny and you know, what I've experienced is, is that every board is really different, but those that I've chosen to be on really share this, the fundamental characteristics that they have a fantastic culture. And for me, the culture of the board is really that red thread that influences the selection of directors, establishes the ways of working, and really sort of guides decision making, both in challenging and I think really prosperous times.
[00:16:00] Bec: One of my observations would be, I think that there is a real art to listening. It's really easy to talk, and if you think about having, five or six very experienced business leaders sitting around the table, they're not short of opinion. And so sometimes that's the most challenging thing is I find that some directors aren't fabulous at listening and sometimes I spend the whole entire board meeting just listening.
[00:16:24] Bec: Because, it's then that you're really able to try and find a way through perhaps a really challenging decision we need to make. And I think also just having really respectful interactions. I am absolutely an advocate for divergent thinking around the boardroom table.
[00:16:43] Bec: I often say to people, if everybody is nodding, you're in the wrong room. You've got the wrong directors around the table. You need contrarians to, you know, really dig deep and really question things, because that's our role. We've got to make sure that we've thought about everything, even if it's not necessarily our position, it's about questioning and challenging.
[00:17:02] Bec: And so you want to create a board environment that really enables that type of culture, but at the same time finds a way through to come out with a decision at the end. And so it's not just a conversational debate for debate sense, it is actually to make sure that you have really prosecuted and really delved deeply into every decision that you're making.
[00:17:24] Gillian: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I feel like the next generation is so good at that. I look at my son who's almost 22 and they're so comfortable having the debate. Do you know what I mean? Like they're just so comfortable in having a different point of view and there's no sensitivity to it. And I think it's such a beautiful thing and it will help them in business right back. It will help them because not taking things personally.
[00:17:45] Bec: Yeah, I absolutely agree with you. And I also think that they read the room really well, as well. And there is a lot about that, back to my point around listening, you have to be able to read the body language of the room. And, you know, it's a little bit harder these days because quite a lot of board meetings are held virtually.
[00:18:00] Bec: I still love doing an in-person board meeting, but when you've got directors based outside of Australia, it's just not practical to do that, obviously, at every, every meeting. So just being able to pick up on that. And there's a little bit of politician in it as well. So a lot of, you know, when you're coming up to having to consider something really significant, it's often the work that happens outside of the boardroom that really informs the effectiveness of the decision making process when you're on the board.
[00:18:27] Bec: So, making sure that everybody has the right context and the right information, understanding where they might have concerns, making sure that you're able to address some of those concerns before you get into the boardroom and ultimately making the decision. So, there are some positive things that politicians do to, to really ensure that there is some level of effective decision making.
[00:18:50] Gillian: That’s great. I remember reading an article a long time ago now, and it was around what makes a great board member and it was to your point around listening and, you know, the most effective person is often the person that actually says the least, you know, they've got that curiosity, just as you were alluding to and all of those sort of things.
[00:19:05] Gillian: And it's really funny, Beck, because if you look at it your career, you spend all this time having a voice at the table, refining your capacity to have impact, um, and to speak up and then at the other end of your career, you know what I mean? Your confidence is coming through and actually sitting back and being a great observer and really leaning into that curiosity and speaking less, potentially.
[00:19:29] Bec: Look it's a real challenge. It really is. But I flip it a little bit too, when you are on your first board and you're also, there's that little bit of imposter syndrome as well, you know, I'm here now I need to actually demonstrate that I can add value. And so, there is that real balance between starting on your first board, listening, learning, obviously having an opinion where it makes sense. But finding that sort of balance between, I want to demonstrate that I'm a valuable, you know, contributor to this board, but I also really understand the power of being able to listen, to read the room, um, and to be really thoughtful in the contribution that I'm making.
[00:20:06] Gillian: I'm sure you are an amazing, amazing board member Beck. They’re very lucky. And I'm sure you're going to go on to expand your portfolio as well. But a final question, if you look back on what has unfolded for you and it's been a really nice journey, but what do you wish you had known before stepping in to this new part of your career? Is there something that, you know, you just, would have felt better equipped.
[00:20:30] Bec: It's really hard because you don't know what you don't know, right? Which is reason you're asking the question. I would say it doesn't matter how much due diligence you do, there will always be things that you uncover when you're actually in the role and I don't think anyone is doing that with mis intent.
[00:20:46] Bec: It's just that you can only do so much outside of being on the board and I'm really thankful that I've had really positive experiences and nothing's really emerged that I've been really concerned about and probably because I knew the businesses before I came into them, I knew many of the people who were already involved. But I have known directors that have, you know, in fact, I've known several who have had their first NED roles and then had that oh, no moment and had to make a really difficult decision to actually step off, you know within six months and that's okay, because I think it's really important for you to realise that board is not for you, whether it be because of, you know, the culture or the governance and to actually step off and not be exposed to an environment that could have a really significant impact on you personally.
[00:21:34] Bec: So that would probably be my message is stand up for yourself. If it doesn't feel right, there is no harm in you stepping off. Okay. You know, it might be an uncomfortable conversation. It might feel a little bit of a dent professionally, but I can absolutely say it's the right thing to do if it doesn't feel right.
[00:21:51] Gillian: Yeah. Yeah. I remember my friend Marina Go and she got onto her first board. It was her thing, and I won't mention the company, but it was a terrible experience back and, three months and she just stepped down. But then she got onto the Bulldogs board. She was the only female. And you know what?
[00:22:08] Gillian: What a board to step into. But she did very well, and she stayed for two years and she felt she made a difference. And I know she did. So you're absolutely right. You've got to be courageous, but you've also got to evaluate. Is this the right business fit for me?
[00:22:23] Bec: Yeah, and I think you gain respect when you're just really honest that this just wasn't right for me. And I think the final thing I would say, Gill, is that we wouldn't start an executive job without having a position description. Right, really clear, this is what the expectations of me in this role are and I see so many directors actually accepting roles without really understanding what is the position description, and so ask for it.
[00:22:47] Bec: If it's not provided to you, actually ask for one. What are you expecting from me? What time do you expect? What's the demand? And often those things are covered. You've asked me to come onto this board for a reason. What is it you want from me? Where do you want me to focus? How do I make sure that I bring what you're hoping from me to the table?
[00:23:06] Gillian: Yeah. Yeah. That's great. You've given us so many good tips. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And it's been wonderful just hearing about your experiences as well and some of the examples you've given have just been so helpful. I know this is going to help so many women. I coached so many women and they do talk about this, but I feel like this bridges some of that gap for them in what does the pathway look like if they wanted to head in that direction. So, I know our listeners will be so appreciative of this. So thank you so much. It's been great Beck.
[00:23:36] Bec: Oh, you're absolutely welcome. And I really appreciate the opportunity to come and talk. I am passionate about it and just can't wait to see the next generation of women coming through boards over the next 10 years.
[00:23:47] Gillian: Yeah, indeed.