One of the challenges we have in Botswana is that of the dearth of tried and tested leaders in Boards of companies. The difficulty, perhaps, lies in that leader are made. Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers, The Story of Success disabuses us of the “notion that it is the best and the brightest who effortlessly rise to the top”. This view “is much too simplistic” he says .Even those born to assume certain positions of leadership or who go on to attain greatness in their fields are not only aided by the natural advantages of their minds but by mentors as well. The process takes years hence Gladwell’s 10,000-Hour Rule. He says that “Ten years is roughly how long it takes to put in ten thousand hours of hard practice. Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.” Therefore, a novice thrust into the throes of Board leadership finds that the experience becomes a baffling, almost impenetrable mystery.
So, we must develop Board leaders from an early age in order to create a big pool particularly because some of the companies have a bearing on the growth of the economy. Being on a Board should not simply be a bucket list action item. It is an onerous responsibility as punitive actions in various legislation and regulations for dereliction of Director duties indicate. A leadership role in the right hands, like fire or water, can be an excellent servant, but a very bad one in the possession of the unskilled.
There is a misconception that Botswana is replete with talent for appointment to Boards. While we have very many educated people, anyone who has ever been involved in the search for suitable Director candidates in Botswana, will tell you how difficult it is to find them. As soon as you identify a candidate, a competitor has already turned their head or they are prevented from joining your Board by one overly unnecessary compliance regulation or another. Therefore, for the most part, Boards have to take on new Directors who, through no fault of their own, do not hit the ground running and, therefore, have to be developed for the next couple of years on the fundamentals of leadership, corporate governance, and the business itself. Wisdom and maturity, which are essential ingredients in a Board Member, are then developed overtime. All these tied together, plus one’s education, result in much sought after “experience.”
It is an indescribable joy to encounter that rare Board Member who has these qualities, complemented by qualifications but they would have been given a chance and gone through necessary years of development. While there are sensible and competent people who join Boards for the first time in their 40s, 50s and even 60s, they are few including those that have worked as executives. Technical competence is one matter but understanding corporate governance, the operations and strategy of the business is not as easy as it is thought to be. Boards run the risk of getting it wrong sometimes when they recruit Board Members but if the Directors are solid all round, such a risk is diminished. If a crisis occurs, they can rescue the business easily. If Directors are not fit and proper, they run the certainty of sleep walking into numerous disasters.
Thus, the argument is that if people are appointed to Board in their 20s to early 30s, there is ample time to mature them into the rigours of Board work including ensuring leadership continuity in those Boards and for others that may recruit them during the course of their professional growth. Indeed, as Gladwell indicates, “People don’t rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact, they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot”. Undoubtedly, therefore, young people in Botswana should be given Board seat opportunities.
Regulators such as Bank of Botswana, Non-Bank Financial Regulatory Authority, Botswana Accounting Oversight Authority, and Botswana Stock Exchange Limited can contrive regulations delicately by making it compulsory for entities to have a third of Boards being people under 35 years old in order to develop a wider pool of Board talent. Board Nominations Committees, where they exist, do not always consciously create space for young people on Boards. Where possible, the majority of the one third should be women. This should not seem like one is making a great disturbance about nothing in particular. Entities will confirm how challenging it is to find suitable women directors.
So, Botswana needs a deliberate process of creating Board leaders while they are still young. “Seeing it all” as a director, including corporate politics and learning how to navigate them, is a process not an event. Experienced Directors learn with time that good leadership is profoundly principle based, always in the best interest of the entity. One realises how refreshing the gift of discernment in a director is especially during a time of crisis. If there are youthful Directors on the Board, such lessons are invaluable because they cannot be found in text books or corporate governance codes. Young directors, some of whom are future chairpersons, then come to understand that a leader cannot always pluck out a business solution from a textbook, charter, or statute. Often times on the Board, a director needs a certain level of awareness, which like common sense, may not be that common.
Regulators, in this one area, cannot hide behind the fear of being accused of interference in private enterprise. The quality of Boards has a direct impact on that of industries they oversee. Therefore, it is in their best interests to ensure that businesses are run by the most competent Boards. Otherwise, disaster looms. However, we can avert it if we start developing leaders early. “Extraordinary achievement is less about talent than it is about opportunity” as Gladwell notes. Developing competent leaders is a rather jog-trotty and hum-drum business but it must be done. Young people with potential must be enabled.
* The contributor has done so in his personal capacity
