From Director to Chair: What Changes When You Want the Top Seat
Many directors eventually want to chair a board. It is the most influential role in governance, and a chair appointment is often seen as the natural next step for an experienced director. But the move from director to chair is a bigger shift than many people expect. The skills that make someone an excellent director are necessary, but they are not enough.
A chair is not simply the most senior director. The role is different in kind. It involves leading the board, building the relationship with the chief executive, managing the board’s performance and representing the organisation. Directors who want to become chairs need to understand those differences and build the evidence that shows they can do it.
What a chair actually does
A chair’s responsibilities typically include:
Leading the board. Setting the agenda, running meetings well, making sure every director contributes and bringing the board to clear decisions.
Building the relationship with the chief executive. The chair is the chief executive’s main point of contact with the board, and often a sounding board and adviser.
Managing board performance. Overseeing board evaluations, addressing performance issues, planning board succession and developing directors.
Representing the organisation. Speaking for the board with shareholders, members, government, regulators, the media and the community.
Leading in a crisis. When something goes wrong, the chair is at the centre of the board’s response.
Appointing and managing the chief executive. Leading chief executive recruitment, performance reviews and, when necessary, succession or exit.
What changes from director to chair
The shift from director to chair involves several changes.
From contributing to facilitating. As a director, you contribute your views. As a chair, you draw out the views of others, manage the discussion and help the board reach a decision. Strong-minded directors sometimes find this difficult.
From individual to collective accountability. A chair is responsible for how the whole board functions, not just their own contribution.
From board meetings to continuous involvement. A chair’s work continues between meetings, with regular contact with the chief executive, other directors and stakeholders.
From private to public. A chair is more visible, and more exposed, than other directors.
From time-bound to open-ended. In a crisis, the chair’s time commitment can be very high and unpredictable.
What boards look for in a chair
When a board or nomination committee appoints a chair, they typically look for:
Significant governance experience, often including committee chair roles
Leadership and facilitation skills
Strong judgement and composure under pressure
The ability to build trust with the chief executive and the board
Relevant sector or industry knowledge
Stakeholder and communication skills
Experience of the challenges the organisation faces
The time and capacity to do the role properly
Build chair experience before you need it
Most chairs have chaired something before. If you want to become a chair, look for ways to build chairing experience now.
Chair a committee. Chairing the audit and risk committee, the remuneration committee or another committee is one of the best ways to show you can lead a group, manage an agenda and bring issues to the board.
Chair a smaller board. Chairing a not-for-profit, a subsidiary or an advisory board can give you direct chairing experience.
Take on the deputy chair role. Where boards have one, the deputy chair often steps in for the chair and may be seen as a successor.
Lead special board projects. Leading a chief executive search, a strategy review or a board evaluation shows chair-like skills.
Work on the skills that matter
Some chair skills can be developed deliberately.
Running a meeting. Practise structuring agendas, keeping discussion focused, managing time and summarising decisions.
Facilitation. Learn to draw out quieter directors, manage dominant voices and handle disagreement constructively.
Chief executive relationships. Think about how you would build a relationship of trust with a chief executive while maintaining the board’s independence.
Difficult conversations. Chairs need to address director performance, chief executive performance and conflict within the board.
Many director institutes offer chair development programs, and many experienced chairs are willing to mentor directors who want to step up.
How chair appointments are made
Chair appointments are usually made in one of two ways. Some boards appoint a chair from among their existing directors, often through an internal process led by the outgoing chair or a nomination committee. Others search externally, using a search firm or, for government boards, a public process.
If you want to become chair of a board you already sit on, your performance as a director is your application. Contribute consistently, build strong relationships and show leadership in committee roles.
If you want to be considered for external chair roles, your board resume needs to show your chairing and leadership experience clearly. Our guide to what board search consultants assess covers how these appointments are usually made.
What the nomination committee is thinking
When a board chooses its next chair, the directors are not only asking who is the most experienced. They are asking who will make the board work better.
In an internal process, directors have watched you for years. They know how you behave when a paper is weak, when a colleague pushes back or when the chief executive brings bad news. They are asking:
Does this person listen, or wait to speak?
Do they bring people together, or pick sides?
Would the chief executive trust them, and would they still hold the chief executive to account?
Will they give the role the time it needs?
In an external process, the committee cannot see any of this directly. So it relies on your resume, your interview and your references. That is why concrete evidence of chairing matters so much. A reference from a chief executive you worked with as a committee chair can carry a great deal of weight.
Common mistakes directors make
A pattern I see often is a strong director who assumes the chair role will come to them. It rarely works that way. These are the mistakes that tend to hold people back:
Dominating discussion. Directors who always have the last word can be seen as poor chair material, even when their views are sound.
Waiting to be asked. If you want the role, tell the current chair, in a considered way, well before succession is on the agenda.
Relying on tenure. Length of service is not a case. Boards want to see leadership, not just loyalty.
Skipping committee leadership. Directors who have never chaired a committee struggle to show they can run a room.
Ignoring the chief executive view. A chair candidate the chief executive cannot work with is a risk the board will notice.
Your board resume for chair roles
A board resume aimed at chair roles should emphasise leadership of boards and committees, significant governance decisions you have led, your relationships with chief executives, crisis leadership and stakeholder engagement.
Describe what you did as a chair or committee chair, not only that you held the role. Show how the board or committee improved, what major decisions you led and how you handled difficult situations. Our piece on defining your board value proposition will help you frame your case.
Here is an illustrative before and after for a committee chair line.
Before: “Chair, Audit and Risk Committee, 2019 to present.”
After: “Chair, Audit and Risk Committee since 2019. Led a full review of the risk framework after a major system failure, reset the committee’s work plan and oversaw the transition to a new external auditor.”
The first line tells the reader you held a title. The second tells them what kind of chair you would be. It shows you can lead through a difficult period, bring structure to a group and manage a sensitive change.
Questions to ask yourself
Before you put your hand up for a chair role, it is worth being clear with yourself on a few points:
Why do I want this role, beyond the title?
Which boards or committees have I led, and what changed because of my leadership?
How would I describe my chairing style, and would others agree?
Which chief executives could speak for how I work with management?
What would I need to step back from to give this role the time it needs?
If your answers are thin, that is useful to know. It tells you where to build experience over the next year or two.
Think about capacity
A chair role takes significantly more time than a director role. Before pursuing a chair appointment, consider whether you have the capacity, especially if you hold other board roles. Many experienced directors reduce their other commitments when they take on a chair role. Our piece on how many boards is too many covers capacity in more detail.
The top seat takes a different kind of leadership
Becoming a chair is a significant step. It rewards directors who have built experience, developed their leadership and shown that they can bring a board together. For those directors, it is one of the most rewarding roles in governance.
If you want your board documents to show your readiness for a chair role, see board resumes and NED positioning.
If you are planning the move from director to chair, book a complimentary Clarity Session and we will look at how to build and present your case.
