The podcast and the article are brought to you by The Better Boards Podcast Series.
The Company Secretary profession is increasingly competitive. It takes a unique blend of skills and experiences to secure a senior position. Those interested will appreciate knowing which abilities to prioritise throughout a career and how to balance behavioural, technical, and influencing skills.
In this podcast, Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner, is joined by Glenn Oborne and Connor Simms, who are both Directors of Ingen Partners. They specialise in recruitment and consultancy for Company Secretaries, with over 20 years’ experience working with individuals at all levels. They understand in-house settings, including most kinds of listed, FCA-regulated and private limited businesses, and stay current on industry trends. They see their roles primarily as career advisers to professionals in this space, having recently conducted a “career clinic” initiative to help individuals identify their long-term career goals and map out a path to achieve them.
“There are no two roles in governance that are the same.“
As recruiters, Connor and Glenn know that everyone wants the top job, but there is no single fixed path to it because of the variations and nuances within each business. Great Company Secretaries become sensitive to how each organisation adopts and interprets governance. No individual is 10 out of 10 in every area of operations and governance, yet those who understand how their strengths and limitations align with the business’s needs and constraints will go far.
“The big thing that differentiates those who achieve that top role is their ability to influence.”
At a base level, Company Secretaries need foundational technical skills, a good work ethic, and exceptional adaptability. However, as they rise through the ranks, savvy individuals recognise the value of cultivating relationships, developing emotional intelligence, and gaining exposure to diverse situations and group dynamics. The role evolves beyond pure technical savvy and into softer skills.
There’s no fixed textbook way to do it, but building breadth of experience and gaining opportunities to build trust, influence, and guide business stakeholders will elevate certain candidates over others. Showing an ability to delegate, build networks, and make an impact is also key.
“The best company secretaries out there are chameleons.”
Each board and business operates differently. It’s the role of the Company Secretary to wear a wide array of hats when dealing with different stakeholders and departments, because each has different expectations and needs. Secretaries must act as translators and navigators between key stakeholders.
Top Company Secretaries also learn from every engagement – good, bad, or indifferent – and use that learning to expand their toolkits. Technical expertise is secondary to openness to new experiences and the ability to integrate them into ever-increasing skill, awareness, and quality of job performance. Tools like AI can speed up production and help smart Secretaries manage volume. Still, the ultimate differentiator between the best and the rest is human discernment, tactful discretion, and comfort and confidence in dealing with complexity and the unknown.
The three top takeaways from our conversation are:
- It’s not what you know, it’s who you know and who you can be in front of through your network.
- Invest in the next generation of talent by being a sponsor or mentor.
- Push the ladder back down and lift others up.
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