Three Keys to Success for Prospanica Members

Three Keys to Success for Prospanica Members
By Pablo Schneider

Having been active with NSHMBA, now Prospanica, over the past 23 years and being a Lifetime Member for the past decade, I have attended and spoken at several Annual Conferences, participated in lots of chapter events, and served as a mentor to a number of Prospanica members. Of the many Prospanica members I have known and observed, the most successful ones have three keys to success in common: they effectively leverage Prospanica, they build lots of social capital, and they serve on boards throughout their careers.

Leveraging Prospanica
What you get out of Prospanica depends on what you put into it – in the short-, mid-, and long-run. If you devote time, effort, and energy to Prospanica, it will pay off. Those who only put a little into Prospanica commonly only get a little out of it. Those who actively participate in their local chapter (including in chapter leadership), really work the annual conference, and utilize the valuable resources provided by Prospanica end up connecting, advancing, and thriving. Prospanica can be a key to your success if you make it so.

Building Social Capital
The most successful professionals are often the ones with the most social capital. Social capital involves much more than “just networking.” Traditional networking oftentimes consists of meeting people to pursue transactions. Social capital is relationship-driven. Your social capital is the sum total of the present and future value you create in conjunction with everyone you know – and everyone they know too. Acquiring, utilizing, and growing social capital is a critical key to personal and professional success. It is imperative to build social capital both internally within your company and externally in your community, profession, and industry, etc.

Serving on Boards
One of best ways to both serve your community and to advance your career is to serve on non-profit, private, and governmental boards. Given the vital importance of having more Hispanics on corporate boards, as you progress in your career it would also be worthwhile to prepare and position yourself for major board service.

Of the 200-plus articles I have published in national media outlets, the “Value of Board Service,” which I wrote for the 2009 Board Edition of Latino Leaders magazine, is one of my favorites. This article is based on a roundtable I organized with Hispanic senior executives from major companies such as BNSF, Fluor, GameStop, Johnson & Johnson, State Farm, Time Warner, and Verizon. The roundtable Q&A discussion results presented below make an extremely compelling case for why Hispanic business professionals should serve on boards.

What are some of the ways in which service on non-profit and private boards is valuable?

Executive/Management
• Directly applies and is valuable to day-to-day job.
• Can take learning from board service into everyday job – makes you a better manager.
• Makes executives more effective and well-rounded.
• Allows operation at a higher level and exercising of different leadership skills.
• Broadens horizons beyond company.
• Allows one to learn what boards need from executives.
• Enables better support of C-level executives for board purposes.
• Helps improve board reporting and board support skills.

Community
• Is an opportunity to give back.
• Provides insights into community issues that are relevant to business.
• Helps fulfill corporate social responsibility.
• Enables learning a great deal about the communities in which we operate.

Career and Professional
• Great preparation for senior VP and C-level positions.
• Helps develop interpersonal influencing and networking skills that are critical in the workplace.
• Helps gain experience and develop a track record.
• Helps make valuable contacts.
• Facilitates meeting lifelong mentors and friends.
• Fosters development and strengthening of professional skills.
• Expands skills beyond your job description and across disciplines.

How does non-profit and private board service help with preparing and positioning for corporate board service?

Preparation
• Developing and honing of board skill sets (that are different from management/technical skill sets), many of which are directly applicable to corporate board service.
• Gaining a governance perspective.
• Learning the art of being a board member.
• Learning to ask the right questions.
• Learning what works and what doesn’t in terms of board processes.
• Learning how a director interacts effectively with an organization’s leadership team.
• Gaining experience with many of the same duties, responsibilities, and issues as there are on corporate boards.
• Providing an opportunity for involvement with strategy, finance, audit, governance, succession planning, compensation, and constituency relations.
• Giving an insider’s view to high-level organizational issues.
• Helping establish a track record of board service.
• Exercising effective stewardship of resources.

Positioning
• Serves as part of a natural progression leading to corporate board service.
• Fosters connections with board members.
• Helps with building relationships.
• Prompts referrals and recommendations to other boards.

What advice would you give aspiring Hispanic professionals regarding board service?
• Serving on boards will help you develop skill sets that are valuable to your every-day job.
• Serving on boards is not a sprint – it’s a life marathon.
• Take a risk, stretch yourself, and take advantage of board service as a growth opportunity.
• Serving on non-profit boards and giving back to the community is the right thing to do.
• Get involved with serving the community – it may lead to board service.
• Go beyond focusing on career only.
• Don’t over-extend yourself.
• Be careful not to diminish your impact by over-committing and under-delivering.
• Be self-aware, know your own strengths so that you can select the assignment where you can add the most value.
• Make sure you understand that board service requires a commitment and that it takes work.
• Find a board that you’re passionate about, that reflects your values, and that connects you with issues and people to whom you want to commit.
• The best way to get engaged immediately is if there is a strong connection between your experience and background, and the needs of the organization.
• Clearly understand the organization’s mission and make sure you are aligned with that mission.
• Choose an organization that is well-run.
• Choose an organization that can leverage your experience and expertise.

Pablo Schneider is a Lifetime Member of Prospanica whose focus is on growing MWBE companies, publishing articles in national media outlets and advancing diverse leaders.