Oscar Munoz didn’t walk into the United Airlines boardroom with an easy road ahead. When he took the CEO role in 2015, the airline was struggling: Labor relations were fractured, customer trust was low and internal silos slowed decision-making. Weeks into the job, Munoz suffered a heart attack, forcing him to step back and recalibrate. When he returned, he didn’t just bring recovery; he brought clarity. He understood that steering the company forward wasn’t about short-term wins — it was about leading with a deeper awareness of people, strategy and resilience.
His story isn’t just about leadership under pressure; it’s about what it takes to show up ready in the boardroom. Not with titles or tenure, but with the kind of capital that actually moves companies forward. Through my research and experience advising directors, I’ve identified five distinct types of capital that define board readiness:
- Cultural capital. The lens shaped by your experiences — what you’ve learned, where you’ve been and how you see the world
- Director capital. Your grasp of governance, strategy and risk
- Human capital. Your skills, education and professional background
- Social capital. Who knows you and who trusts you to bring value
- Commitment capital. Your ability to show up, stay present and stay the course
These aren’t theoretical concepts. They’re real assets that determine whether a director can contribute meaningfully. And they don’t just appear. They’re built, sharpened and tested over time. Understanding these capitals — and knowing how to develop and leverage them — is what separates candidates who get the call from those who don’t.
Cultural Capital: Your Unique Foundation
No one arrives at the boardroom table by accident. Every perspective, every instinct and every leadership decision is shaped by a lifetime of experiences — some of which have been hard-earned. This is the essence of cultural capital: the accumulated knowledge, values and perspectives shaped by one’s personal history. If you are seeking your first or next board seat, understanding and articulating this capital isn’t optional — it’s essential.
Cultural capital is more than where you come from. It’s how your experiences shape the way you approach challenges, solve problems and navigate relationships. It’s the insight you bring when a conversation stalls or when a strategy needs fresh thinking. It’s knowing when to challenge assumptions and when to listen. But none of this matters if you can’t recognize and articulate how your perspective adds value.
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Perhaps no one demonstrates the power of cultural capital better than Ursula Burns. Raised by a single mother in a New York City housing project, Burns’s formative years taught her resilience, focus and the importance of hard work. When she became the first Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company as CEO of Xerox, she didn’t leave her background at the door. She brought it into the boardroom. Burns led Xerox through a strategic shift from document technology to services, a bold move rooted in her ability to challenge outdated thinking and see opportunities others missed. Her leadership wasn’t shaped despite her background — it was shaped because of it.
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Ask yourself: What are the experiences that shaped how I lead? What challenges sharpened my decision-making? What insights can only I bring to the table?
To start, map your personal and professional milestones. Identify the moments that shaped your approach to leadership and problem-solving. Understand how these experiences can help you interpret business challenges and shape strategy. Directors who can tap into their well of perspective aren’t just participants — they’re catalysts for better decisions. Practice articulating the insights you have gained from these exercises. Your cultural capital is an asset, but only if others see it, too.
Director Capital: Mastering Governance and Strategy
Director capital isn’t about knowing how a board operates — it’s about proving you can think and act like a director before you even have the title. It comes down to four essentials: your personality traits and working style, board-specific training, board experience and specialized knowledge. Without strength in these areas, even the sharpest executive can stumble. Because the boardroom isn’t about managing day-to-day operations; it’s about overseeing risk, ensuring fiduciary responsibility and contributing to the high-stakes discussions that shape an organization’s future. Your ability to navigate emerging challenges and ask sharp, strategic questions is how you earn trust and drive value.
You can build your director capital in four primary ways:
- Governance training. Enroll in one of the many exceptional governance education programs available to develop foundational knowledge.
- Board experience. Start with observer roles or nonprofit fiduciary boards. This hands-on experience will refine how you analyze financials, question assumptions and engage in strategic discussions.
- Specialized knowledge. Deepen your expertise in areas relevant to today’s board challenges — whether that’s AI, risk management or industry-specific trends.
- Mentorship. Connect with seasoned board members who can challenge your thinking and offer unfiltered feedback.
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Mary Barra, chair and CEO of General Motors, exemplifies director capital through her strategic oversight, risk navigation and governance expertise. When GM faced the ignition switch crisis in 2014, Barra didn’t deflect. She led with accountability, driving policy changes that redefined GM’s safety culture and set new standards for corporate responsibility. Her governance approach also is evident beyond crisis management. Her leadership in charting GM’s transition to an all-electric future demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of risk and opportunity. She didn’t just follow trends — she assessed them, weighed their long-term implications and invested accordingly. These strategic actions helped GM shape rather than simply react to the market, all while engaging stakeholders and safeguarding GM’s strategic position. Barra’s journey reveals that director capital is built through decisive leadership and an unwavering focus on governance, strategy and risk. Her ability to balance competing interests while advancing bold initiatives reflects the depth of her director expertise, an approach grounded in foresight and fortified by action.
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What Barra’s example shows is that aspiring directors shouldn’t just aim for titles. Aim for experiences that build your perspective, challenge your thinking and force you to see the full complexity of business challenges. Director capital isn’t built overnight; it’s built in the moments when you choose to lean in, ask harder questions and take on roles that stretch your capacity to lead.
Human Capital: Leveraging Skills and Expertise
Human capital is the foundation of board readiness. It’s the sum of an individual’s education, professional experiences and specialized skills that enable them to contribute meaningful insights and oversight in the boardroom. For directors, human capital isn’t just knowing a little about a lot. It’s about having deep expertise in areas that align with organizational strategy, whether that’s financial acumen, industry insights or understanding emerging trends. For example, BDO’s 2024 Board Survey found that boards are prioritizing directors with expertise in technology implementation (31%), industry specialization (31%), cybersecurity (27%), audit and financial experience (27%) and corporate strategy (25%) to drive sustainable growth and effective risk management in 2025.
In addition to what you know, human capital is about how you apply it. Boards value directors who don’t just know the data, but who can apply it in moments when decisions are high-risk and time-sensitive. Without these vital traits, boards can suffer from poor decision-making, missed opportunities and stagnation. That’s why boards today don’t just seek directors — they seek experts who bring clear value to the table.
If you’re serious about building your human capital, here’s where to start:
- Skill development. Identify the competencies boards are prioritizing (finance, risk management, digital innovation) and develop expertise through certifications, projects and real-world application.
- Professional growth. Pursue roles that expand your experience across industries and business functions. The broader your base, the sharper your strategic lens.
- Leadership roles. Take on responsibilities that challenge your ability to lead through complexity. It’s not about titles; it’s about demonstrating your capacity to think strategically and execute effectively.
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Indra Nooyi’s ascent to CEO of PepsiCo wasn’t about luck or timing. It was about building a reservoir of human capital that positioned her for strategic leadership. Nooyi’s background in finance and strategic planning wasn’t just a bullet point on her resume. It was the foundation for transformative decisions that reshaped PepsiCo’s global presence. She led the acquisition of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats, moves that didn’t just expand the company’s product line, but positioned it for long-term market resilience. She also championed a shift toward healthier product lines, anticipating market shifts long before they were mainstream. These weren’t surface-level decisions. They were calculated, grounded in data as well as her global perspective, financial expertise and years of understanding market dynamics.
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If you are looking for your first or next board seat, consider Nooyi’s path as a blueprint. Start with an honest audit of your skills and experiences. Where are you strong? Where do you have gaps? Then seek roles that stretch your thinking. Align your growth with the competencies boards are actively seeking.
Human capital isn’t built by accident — it’s the result of deliberate learning, career decisions and commitment to refining expertise.
Social Capital: The Power of Relationships and Visibility
In the boardroom, it’s not just about what you know or who you know. It’s about who knows you and knows what you’re about. Social capital refers to the relationships and networks that give you access to resources, information and opportunities, especially board opportunities, which usually emerge behind closed doors. Candidates are quietly vetted long before they receive a call. And rather than review resumes, they ask, “Who can vouch for this person? Who trusts them to bring value to the table?” Often, the answer lies in the strength, breadth and depth of your relationships. Your relationships can be the difference between being considered or completely overlooked.
Building and maintaining social capital is about showing up, offering value and staying connected. Here’s how to expand your social capital.
- Networking. Actively participate in industry conferences and events to broaden your professional connections. Engaging in these platforms facilitates the exchange of ideas and positions you within key industry circles.
- Professional associations. Join organizations related to corporate governance to meet like-minded professionals. Membership in such associations not only expands your network but also keeps you abreast of industry trends and best practices.
- Online presence. Utilize platforms like LinkedIn to showcase your expertise and connect with industry leaders. A strong online presence enhances your visibility and credibility, essential components of social capital.
- Mentorship and sponsorship. Seek mentors who can provide guidance and sponsors who will advocate for you in decision-making arenas; speak on your behalf in top-level, closed-door meetings; and help propel your career forward. These relationships don’t happen by accident. Identify potential mentors and sponsors within your network and seek ways to demonstrate your value. Ask for advice, not favors. Consistently show up in conversations where strategic thinking is on display.
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Carla Harris, vice chairman of Morgan Stanley, didn’t just build a network — she built influence. Known for her extensive relationships and thoughtful networking, Harris attributes much of her career success to intentional relationship-building. She made it a practice to stay connected, offering value to her contacts long before asking for anything in return.
Her ability to maintain strong, authentic relationships didn’t just open doors — it created advocates. These advocates weren’t just connections on paper; they were people who knew her value and were willing to speak up when opportunities surfaced. Harris’s approach is a masterclass in how social capital can propel a career, particularly in spaces where trust and reputation are currency.
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The message is clear: Build now for the opportunities that come later. Don’t just collect business cards. Build real, meaningful relationships. Let people know your aspirations. Engage in conversations about board service. Share your expertise. Show up consistently. In the end, it’s about who knows you and believes in what you bring to the table.
Commitment Capital: Applying Strategic Dedication
Board service isn’t for the faint of heart. Each seat can demand 200 to 250 hours of annual service, including attending meetings, reviewing documentation and contributing to committee responsibilities. It’s also a role that comes with legal risks, reputational stakes and long-term accountability that extends long after a director’s official term has ended.
This means that while motivation can get you on the path to board service, you will need commitment capital to actually secure a seat. Completing a challenging goal requires consistent, conscious dedication of resources (i.e., time, energy, focus and resilience) and ensuring the resources you invest match the demands of the task.
If you’ve stalled in your board journey, it’s worth asking yourself:
- Do I understand the full effort involved in this journey?
- Have I accurately identified the resources I need to succeed?
- Am I willing to invest these resources, even if it means making sacrifices elsewhere?
Diagnosing your commitment capital means identifying the tasks you need to complete, the resources they require and the sticking points that are holding you back. This powerful framework can be the difference between wanting and securing a seat.
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Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, exemplifies commitment capital. When Polman took the helm, he refused to play the game of short-term profit gains. Instead, he prioritized sustainability and long-term value creation, aligning Unilever’s strategy with global environmental and social challenges. Under his leadership, Unilever set ambitious goals, like cutting environmental impact by half and improving the livelihoods of millions. Polman’s patience and unwavering commitment to ethical business practices didn’t just earn respect, it positioned Unilever as a global leader in sustainable business, driving growth even in turbulent markets. Polman’s leadership illustrates the essence of commitment capital: the ability to stay the course, make tough calls for long-term benefit and consistently align action with core values. He understood that commitment wasn’t about quick wins. It was about enduring dedication to the goal.
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Board readiness isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about building a portfolio of five capitals — cultural, director, human, social and commitment — that prove you’re ready to serve. These capitals aren’t theoretical. They’re earned through strategic effort and choices. Each capital strengthens the others, creating a value profile that boards can trust.
If you’re serious about board service, start now: Audit your capitals. Identify where you’re strong, where you’re weak and where you need to grow. Build intentionally. Because when opportunity knocks, only those who’ve invested in their capital portfolios will be ready to answer the call.