Ever wondered what it’s like to be a part of Take on Board Accelerator, the 12-month small group (6-10) program that helps women and gender diverse directors to build board portfolios and governance skills?
Here’s a high-level behind-the-scenes look at the Accelerator journey, starting with a snapshot of the first day, followed by eight themes to give you an idea of what the groups feel, experience and achieve over the course of the year.
It’s the first day of Accelerator 2024…
And it’s an unusually cool mid-February day. A cool change has dropped Melbourne’s run of 35-degree heat down to 20 degrees.
Most of us are back at work – and back in the boardroom. Kids are back at school. Our regular routines have kicked in. We’re ready to get cracking on plans for the year.
Alex, Anthea, Bonnie, Chaman, Giovi, Gloria, Katerina, Lina, Ngaire and Susan log in before 12.15pm for their first Take on Board Accelerator session for 2024. Their faces smile back at me from the Zoom grid in front of me. They are the ‘Thursday midday group.’

I love this moment. It’s been a long time coming. It took six months of planning for us all to arrive here.
I start with an Acknowledgement of Country. I’m in Naarm/Melbourne, on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.
The group come from a mix of backgrounds and board types – for purpose, government, for-profits and local councils. Board experience ranges from a couple of years to a couple of decades.
Each member introduces themselves – name, boards and why they’re here. And as a group, we set the ground rules for the year. The group builds boundaries around how they like to be treated and what they’d like to achieve.
I have set the topic for the month – governance calendars. I’ve also set the topic for December – goal setting using my RSVP tool. I ask them to come up with a ‘shopping list’ of topics to draw from for the other nine months. Although as the months roll by, not all topics are selected from the list. New topics arise that align with challenges a group member might be experiencing at the time.
Each group is different. Some of the topics that groups chose for 2024 include:
- Board and CEO relationships
- Expanding the board for greater representation
- Improving board performance and culture
- The boards role in stakeholder engagement
- Due diligence before joining a board
- What to do when you’re wearing all the hats (founder, CEO, board member, etc)
- Succession planning/chair succession planning
- Review of challenges from 2024
After some housekeeping, community service announcements and a final round of reflections we log off at 2pm and get on with our day.
The Accelerator journey
Seeing as this is Accelerator’s eighth year, I’ve picked eight themes to give you as broad an idea as possible about what evolves over the rest of the Accelerator year.
There have been some clear themes over the eight years, despite the fact that each year tends to be influenced by societal and world events (yes, the Covid-19 pandemic), and despite the fact that each group (and group member) tend to go on their own Accelerator journeys.
The themes:
#1 Boardroom dynamics are the perennial challenge
#2 Relationships need to be nurtured
#3 More is achieved during an Accelerator year
#4 Change and growth are championed
#5 Confidence is boosted
#6 They have more in common than expected
#7 A melting pot of knowledge and wisdom
#8 Long-term connections are formed
#1 Boardroom dynamics are the perennial challenge
Whatever the session topic, boardroom dynamics often sits at the heart of issues raised each month. It’s part of the art of being a director – such as defining the role of governance to management, or directors alignment on strategic direction, etc. Board diversity can increase dynamics, although this is a good thing as diverse boards tend to be more successful than homogenised boards. In most cases, soundboarding with the group ‘brains trust’ leads to a practical solution to a communication challenge.
“[It’s] an enlightening foray into the art of boardroom practice. The science of board practice is relatively easy – there are many courses and opportunities to learn. It’s the art of boardroom practice that you can’t learn in books.” Carole Alt
#2 Relationships need to be nurtured
Management and board members come and go. Relationships often need to be nurtured as a new CEO or directors are appointed. In part, this is a continuation of #1. It takes time to build trust in any kind of relationship – through communication and setting expectations and boundaries. Again, the group offers practical solutions to most challenges.
“I have learnt a lot about practical application of board governance principles and also get to hear and understand the challenges of boards and how to navigate some of these challenges.” Alice Fung
#3 More is achieved during an Accelerator year
Women sign up to Accelerator for a number of reasons, although what they have in common is that they want to achieve a goal (or goals). Such as to build their governance skills, to expand a board portfolio, etc. Most achieve more than they expected due to the collaboration, sharing, support and cheer squadding from the group.
“I was inspired to take on some issues around how our board is run. We’ve now done a skills audit, are about to establish an annual calendar and are working on improving our working methods.” Antonia Mochan
#4 Change and growth are championed
Accelerator creates a safe place to discuss governance challenges and goals. It is an opportunity to go deep on an idea or opportunity that wouldn’t tend to be discussed with a board colleague, co-worker, family member or friend. Change and growth are often inevitable when there is regular reflection and ongoing advice and support. The one-on-one coffee catch-ups play a pivotal role in this process. Each month they meet with someone from the group.
“I felt the encouragement, empowerment and enrichment for all of us in the group to learn, grow and lead better.” Alice Fung
#5 Confidence is boosted
We can all get stuck in our own heads at times – in our own worlds, views, habits, four walls. Listening and understanding somebody else’s point-of-view has this almost magical way of liberating our minds to think more broadly. The groups go deep into individual experiences during the monthly sessions. The monthly one-on-one catch-ups provide an opportunity for deeper connection. Feelings of imposter syndrome are reduced.
“It has improved my confidence and effectiveness as a board member, and having the calibre of other participants to share and garner ideas from was incredible.” Liz Kelly
#6 They have more in common than expected
In that first Take on Board Accelerator session for the year, they all take in the variety of faces looking back at them. Different cultural backgrounds, ages, education level, board experience, etc. Over the course of the year – particularly after a number of one-on-one coffee catch-ups – they realise they have more in common than they realised. The result is a sense of belonging to a network of like-minds.
“You realise you’re not the only board member having these issues. They are surprisingly common. [It] was invaluable to gain the knowledge to be able to contribute to a board competently and with confidence.” Venetia Taylor
#7 A melting pot of knowledge and wisdom
The magic of the program is that as trust and relationships build, the group leverage each other’s knowledge and wisdom. It’s not about me being the expert adviser, it’s the group providing diverse and valuable foresight and insight. Ten people per group equals 10 x the wisdom!
“[We all benefited from] bringing together a diverse group of directors. Great professional development, plus new lasting relationships.” Tania Fryer
#8 Long-term connections are formed
For most, the Accelerator journey doesn’t end in December after everyone in the group runs through their RSVP yearly reflections and goals and then wrap up for the year. The groups know each other well. They know each other’s strengths. They know who to go to for advice. Accelerator’s 2017 groups are still in contact. Today, each group gets their own Signal messaging group.
“Whilst we each had different experiences, all were generous in their sharing. We learnt so much from each other and will remain firm friends” Leonie Morgan AM