We’ve been discussing board service in the space for the past few weeks and it seems to be a very timely subject with a lot of interest. In our last article we talked about figuring out where you might best fit into a corporate board, given your skills, interest and experience.

Now that you’ve zeroed in on the size and type of board you’ll target and knowing what strengths you’ll offer them, the next step is to polish those skills. As my mom always said, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” So be patient with yourself. Things will work out.

The sooner you begin preparing for a corporate directorship, the better. And to help you begin to prepare, here are some early actions to consider for the purpose of fine-tuning your skills.

Seek out for-profit private board experience. “Although any board experience is beneficial, corporations are likely to value for-profit board experience over a directorship at a nonprofit,” says Steve Mader, managing director chairman at recruiter Korn/Ferry International. Find a small company or start-up and approach it about serving on its board

Source - Read More at: www.forbes.com