What A Board Career Really Teaches You

Careers rarely unfold the way we expect. Looking back across decades of leadership experience, spanning frontline roles, executive responsibility, boardrooms and Chairs, what stands out most isn’t a perfectly plotted trajectory, but a series of inflection points. Some energising, some uncomfortable, some formative - in ways you only appreciate later.

Julia van den Bosch Wazen, Principal, Odgers’ CFO Practice, and Mark Freebairn, Partner & Head of Odgers’ Board & CFO Practice, recently held a Women in Finance event co-hosted by Alison Platt, a former CEO of a FTSE 250 company and one of the UK’s most experienced corporate leaders.

The event brought together NEDs, CFOs and aspiring CFOs from across industries and ownership structures for a conversation about career progression, resilience, sponsorship and the realities of senior leadership. 

Below are the seven lessons shared by our esteemed speaker.

1. Early Exposure To Change Is An Advantage

Working through periods of genuine transformation early in a career builds instinctive understanding of how organisations function under pressure. You learn quickly that culture shifts before performance does and that in service, businesses and frontline teams don’t just represent the brand; they are the brand.

2. Leadership Models Don’t Travel Universally

A values-led approach, customer focus, purpose and respect for people, can be enormously powerful. But one of the hardest lessons is that no leadership philosophy works everywhere - different business models reward different behaviours, and assuming your “tried and tested” approach will always translate is risky.

Knowing what you believe in is essential. Knowing where it applies is equally important.

3. ‘Failure’ Changes You, If You Let It

For many senior leaders, there comes a moment when something doesn’t work out. Usually, for executives, this will happen publicly. It’s destabilising, particularly if success has previously reinforced confidence and momentum. Yet those moments force deeper self-assessment than any promotion ever will.

4. Sponsors Who Tell You The Truth Are Priceless

Real sponsorship isn’t just advocacy, it’s honesty. The people who matter most in your career are those willing to say when something isn’t the right fit, when timing is wrong or when a chapter has closed.

That candour can feel brutal in the moment. In hindsight, it’s usually the advice that saves the most time.

5. Networking Is About Quality, Not Visibility

The strongest networks aren’t built at drinks receptions but through shared work, trust and respect. Over time, the most valuable connections tend to have three things in common: capability, integrity and the courage to deal with difficult issues directly.

6. Reinvention Isn’t Retreat

Stepping away from executive roles into portfolio, non-executive or Chair positions is often misunderstood as “slowing down.” For many, it’s the opposite: more learning, broader influence and greater intellectual challenge.

But freedom comes with responsibility. Without a formal boss, you must set your own objectives, review your own performance, and keep raising the bar yourself.

7. Choose People Before Roles

Titles and brands matter far less than who you sit next to when decisions get hard. In governance and leadership roles especially, the true test comes when conditions deteriorate. That’s when preparation, judgement and mutual trust matter most.

Do your due diligence on people - they define the experience.

Careers are shaped by luck, judgement, resilience and the people willing to walk alongside you, especially when things don’t go to plan. The longer the journey, the clearer it becomes that progress isn’t about avoiding the hard moments, but about how you respond to them. And often, the chapters that feel like endings turn out to be pivots.

Connect with Odgers’ Board & CFO Practice to discuss the next step in your career path.

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