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Good director/Bad director: The manual
A manual for Board Members inspired by tips from Xavier Helgesen's tweet.
What makes a good board member? How do you know if you are one?
Here’s a super lightweight list of 10 traits of good directors I came across in a tweet from , a longtime entrepreneur and founder who knows a thing or two about working with board members.
In his Twitter thread, he shares some of his top insights (10 of them, to be exact) on a what it means to be a ‘good’ (or ‘bad) board member.
Here’s a snapshot of his original tweet 👉
Inspired by a format used to share insights on a “Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager”, Xavier similarly lists 10 key traits, presented as a comparison between what those might look like in a good director, versus in a bad one, based on his experiences.
Seeing how valuable these insights were and how much interest it sparked in the Twitter-dom, I decided it would be a good idea to convert his manual into a standalone doc so it can be easily shared as a resource.
As a bonus, I’ve included a list for new (and seasoned) board members to rate themselves on the 10 traits Xavier’s presented—to see how you —what’s going well and what areas need some work. If you’re bold enough, you can even share it with someone else to get some feedback.
Included in this doc:
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