Young board members bring unique value to the table

Leaders must wake people out of inertia. They must get people excited about something they’ve never seen before, something that does not yet exist,” said Rosabeth Moss Kanter, director and chair of Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative.

As a chief executive officer in one of the world’s most exciting and rapidly changing economies, India, one is faced with a multitude of challenges. With other economies slowing down, an exponential rate of technological progress and a shifting culture in a post-pandemic business environment, it is imperative to remain ahead of the curve.

The table at a typical board meeting in India in not something that exercises one’s imagination. Its members are usually male and well above a certain age. A 2020 study of the board composition of Nifty 500 companies over a period of three years found that the average age of directors was 64, with 40.6 being the average of the youngest board. As per the same study, women comprised 17% of all directors, and only nine companies had board members below the age of 30. This, however, stands out starkly in a country whose demographic profile is young. Between 2019 and 2021, the median age of Indian citizens was estimated at 27.3 years. Considering that our young population represents the future of India, this data requires us to relook at the structure of our organizations and ask an important question: Are we out of touch?

As spoken about in the corporate context, boardroom ‘diversity’ often refers to a wide representation in terms of gender, work experience and geographical background. However, age is a factor that is often left unaddressed. This creates a significant delta gap on perspectives and insights vis-a-vis a generation that is rapidly evolving and differs significantly by way of values, attitudes and behaviours.

The burgeoning Gen Z and millennial employees who fill offices today reflect the country’s youth bulge. They are well educated, culturally diverse, conscientious about the environment, native to digitization and resilient to change. Ensuring that we remain relevant as leaders and practise purposeful leadership requires us to recognise and show faith in the latent potential of our younger counterparts, reviewing our governance structures to ensure greater representation of the youth.

How do we ensure youth representation?: The first step for any firm to bring about any organizational or management change is to examine its values and practices, while identifying any structural barriers that have been intentionally or unintentionally put up. The second is to put your money where your mouth is. It is all well and good for a firm to define ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ as key components of its corporate strategy, but if the actions taken are not reflective of these stated intentions, then credibility is lost.

It is crucial, therefore, to take a step beyond mere tokenism and practise real inclusion by providing our youth with a seat at the table, a platform for youngsters to discuss issues and make recommendations. By valuing the capabilities and contributions of the youth this way, we would be better equipped to tackle uncertainties of the future.

What do young members bring to the boardroom?: Youth representation in boardrooms is increasingly becoming popular as young members allow an organization to test and measure the buy-in for top-level decisions. Not only do youth members act as a window to the values, attitudes and behaviours of their generation, they also bring in a certain degree of opinion diversification. While some may question their inexperience and lack of maturity, this is a trait that can be leveraged to the board’s advantage. With naivety come opinions that are not burdened with preconceptions, biases and rigid old ways of problem solving.

Gen Z individuals and millennials are not heavily under the influence of what they ‘know,’ typically, and they possess an enthusiasm for innovation, which serves as healthy opposition to the status quo. Understanding what matters to the youth and how they use technology and communicate is relevant to the business strategy of any firm.

Additionally, having a youth member on the board also encourages participation in decision-making overall by the organization’s younger generation, as youngsters feel respected and valued, and are more willing to be held accountable.

The position of a board member is one of repute and prestige, and opening it up to the youth creates an impetus among young employees to vie for it. A position on the board would also help a GenZ or millennial individual obtain a more holistic understanding of the business, learn how to represent a larger group, and gain experience in tackling problems as a collective. Such exposure will also enable a young board member to strengthen his or her skills in leadership, communication and business management, hone a leadership style, build networks and acquire confidence.

Having a youth member on your organization’s board may help make decisions that are grounded and yet have their gaze fixed firmly on the future. In an environment where we must often tread a delicate path between maintaining quality and building resilience for change, the future lies in changing our assumptions about what leadership ‘looks like’ and shaping the leaders of tomorrow.