Hidai becomes a Certified Board Member / NED (Non-Executive Director)

Excited to become a Certified Board Member / NED (Non-Executive Director) after recently completing the Connectd academy, which was the planned & natural step for me, after becoming a Certified Board Advisor last year.

To be honest it was actually better than I expected (as I mentioned previously here and some of you may know, I'm not a big fan of courses...), as it was thorough, challenging, interesting, pragmatic and modern.
Which is in line with everything Connectd is offering.

Beyond covering the expected (and very important) elements of governance, compliance etc., it had a strong focus on the actual challenges in boardrooms these days, across various organisations types, sizes & stages, and how to navigate them effectively and be able to provide real value in this role, which is at the highest level of business, and carries a huge responsibility.

One of the modern topics was Cyber Security, as a serious issue which needs to be a part of risk management & compliance for every organisation, especially now with AI capabilities enhancing its level of sophistication & potential damage.

Speaking of which, AI was of course the biggest & newest issue, including understanding its huge potential but also the challenges, limitations & risks, to provide effective governance to this lightning-fast and constantly-evolving technology, allowing organisations to use AI smartly, carefully and responsibly.

And from a different, human angle, how to make an impact in a room full of strong people, some executives and some fellow NEDs, and the biases which are important (yet tricky) to prevent - Confirmation, Authority, Groupthink & Status Quo.

All of the above was of course not completely new to me, given my experience in various roles, especially my current one as Chair of the Board at Cabinteely Community School for the last 4.5 years (and Board Member there for 5.5+ years), which has taught me so much and I'm very proud of and grateful for.

Yet the course was still very valuable to my knowledge & confidence, and I am now very excited to join the right boards in a commercial environment and make an impact there too.

Link to original post on LinkedIn