The Unprofessional Professional: How diversity can shape the boardroom

Boardrooms have come a long way in the diversity game, and so far it’s a commendable achievement. Decades ago, a person of colour would unfortunately have never been seen on a board. Women were in a similar position. These days, people of different race, creed and gender are being welcomed onto boards because society is beginning to see – really see – the positive effects of inclusivity. But while we’ve no doubt made leaps and bounds, how far away are we from experiencing full diversity?

Even though people from very different backgrounds are able to lead successful board careers, they’ve still all got a wealth of things in common regardless of these differences. They’re likely to have similar personality types: very probably being high achievers, well-educated and learned members of society. Given that we’ve learned so much thus far from diversifying the boardroom, would it be correct to assume we could learn even more from someone who had absolutely no background, skills, experiences or even desire to be on a board?