Becoming Board-Ready: How to Build the Experience Public Companies Expect

There is a growing fascination with public company board seats, especially among high-achieving women. They signal credibility, influence, and arrival. They show up nicely in bios and introductions. And lately, they’re talked about as if they’re the natural “next step” for accomplished leaders.

But here’s the truth most women aren’t told early enough: public company board seats are not aspirational roles. They are governance roles. And governance is a very different game than execution.

I sit on a for-profit public company board today. I also coach women every week - VPs, founders, senior executives - who say they want to be on boards. What separates those who eventually get there from those who don’t is not ambition, intelligence, or work ethic. It’s whether they understand what boards are actually screening for and whether they’ve intentionally built those skills.

The data helps explain the disconnect. Women now hold roughly one-third of board seats at large public companies. That sounds like progress until you look closer. Representation drops sharply in small- and mid-cap companies. It drops again when boards are seeking financial expertise. And it drops further when boards want operators who have carried full enterprise accountability. Diversity initiatives may improve access, but they do not change expectations. Boards are still built around proof.

The first and most non-negotiable requirement is financial acumen.

Every meaningful board conversation eventually comes back to money. Revenue quality. Margin structure. Cash flow. Capital allocation. Risk exposure. These are not abstract concepts at the board level, they are the substance of governance. Board members are expected to read income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements fluently, and more importantly, understand how those three views of the business work together to tell the real story.

This is where many accomplished women get stuck. They understand the business deeply. They drive outcomes. But when conversations turn to leverage, liquidity, or cash constraints, they hesitate. They listen more than they speak. Not because they aren’t capable, but because they were never trained to think financially at a governance level. Boards don’t need members who prepare the numbers. They need members who can interpret them, challenge assumptions, and connect financial reality to strategic decisions.

Financial fluency is the gatekeeper. And while it intimidates many women, it is also one of the most learnable and fixable gaps I see.

The second reality is time—and far more of it than people expect.

Public company board service is not a quarterly meeting and a polished LinkedIn headline. It requires deep preparation, serious attention to pre-read materials, and active participation in committee work—often audit or compensation—where the most sensitive decisions are made. It includes ongoing engagement with the CEO outside of meetings and availability when something breaks and the board needs to respond quickly and calmly.

This is why boards gravitate toward leaders who already operate at a strategic altitude. People who can zoom out. People who have earned back control of their calendar. People who are no longer buried in day-to-day execution. If you’re still deep in the weeds, that doesn’t disqualify you—but it does mean board service should be planned intentionally, not romanticized.

The third filter is enterprise-level experience.

Not title. Scope.

Boards want leaders who have owned outcomes—not just functions. Revenue. Margin. Cash. People. The full equation. That usually shows up as CEO, CFO, COO, or President experience, or VP-level roles with true P&L ownership. Cost centers don’t count. Influence without accountability doesn’t count. Boards govern the entire enterprise, and they want people who have lived with the consequences of their decisions.

This is where many women assume they are “not ready yet,” when in reality, they simply haven’t been deliberate about expanding scope. Board readiness is not about waiting for permission. It’s about intentionally building exposure to financial and enterprise-level decision-making.

My own board journey was far less confident than people assume.

For nearly two years after joining a public company board, I barely spoke. I was listening. Observing. Learning the personalities, the dynamics, the unspoken rules. I told myself I was being responsible and thoughtful. What I was really doing was staying quiet in a room that did not automatically make space for me.

Eventually, I realized something uncomfortable: silence doesn’t earn credibility. It just makes you invisible.

So I made a deliberate shift. I began building relationships one board member at a time, outside of board meetings. I asked questions. I paid attention to how each person thought and where they focused their attention. At the same time, I got clear on one to two areas where I could add the most value—where my operating experience and financial perspective were differentiated.

And then I spoke. Not on everything. Not all at once. But consistently, clearly, and without apology in those lanes. That’s when my confidence changed. And that’s when my impact started to matter.

Almost no one starts board-ready. Board readiness is built. Financial acumen can be learned. Enterprise scope can be expanded. Strategic judgment can be practiced long before a seat is offered.

The women who earn public company board roles don’t wait to be chosen. They prepare deliberately. They build proof quietly and consistently. And they decide that governance—not just execution—is a level they intend to reach.

If a for-profit public company board seat is part of your long-term vision, stop treating it like a someday aspiration and start treating it like a strategy.

That’s how real board careers are built.

🎙️ Watch From Grit to Growth with Jennifer DiMotta & Mark Hasebroock on YouTube.
How Founders Build Boards That Drive Growth & 3 Areas to Become a Great Board Member: https://youtu.be/AHJVkdJmPyQ?si=zziMYWRVQ2qq4djy

📩 Email me at jennifer@dundeegp.com
Want to talk more about Board Roles and how to get on a for-profit board? Email me!