If your Board search strategy consists of spending your Saturday mornings refreshing LinkedIn, searching through Institute listings, and waiting for an email alert to ping—this episode is your reality check.

Today, I'm breaking down the "Iceberg Theory" of Board recruitment. The advertisements you see on public job boards represent less than 10% of the actual opportunities. The other 90% - the hidden Board seat market - are filled through trusted networks, private recommendations, and strategic conversations long before an advertisement is ever written.

I explain why this 'Board Recruitment Theatre' (fake ads) might be wasting your time, how the recruitment process actually works behind closed doors, and how you can shift from being a passive 'Applicant' to an active 'Candidate' to access the hidden Board seat market.

Key Takeaways:

• The "Seagull Effect": Why relying on advertisements forces you to compete with thousands of candidates for the smallest slice of the market (like seagulls fighting for a chip at the beach).
• The Risk Management Reality: Why Boards prefer trusted referrals over unknown applicants, and why "who knows you" may matter more than just your resume.
• 'Board Recruitment Theatre': Understanding when an advertisement is just a compliance performance for a role that is already filled.
• The 5-Step 'Trust Transfer': A behind-the-scenes look at how a Board vacancy is filled (hint: the conversation often happens before the formal interview).
• The 3 Keys to Accessing the 90%:
• 1. Clarity (North Star): Being specific about the Board you want.
  2. Visibility (Value Proposition): A clear and compelling Board story built on a reputation that precedes you.
  3. Proximity (Network): Getting into the orbit of decision-makers.

Join the Build Your Board Career Priority Waitlist

Stop trying to piece the map together yourself. Join the Build Your Board Career program waitlist to get priority access to the strategy, templates, and support you need to land your first, next, or paid Board role in 2026.

Join the Waitlist here

Connect with Me:

• LinkedIn
• Website

Actionable Step for This Week: I am giving you a permission slip. If 90% of roles aren't advertised, then "the weekend scroll" isn't hustling, it's just anxiety. Join the waitlist, then close your laptop. Go watch the cricket, go for a run, or get out in the garden. Enjoy your weekend guilt-free knowing you have a plan waiting for you.

If you are currently looking for a Board role, answer this honestly: Is your strategy based on searching for that perfect advertisement, waiting for head-hunters to call, or asking your network to "keep you in mind"?

If so, you are likely hearing a lot of silence.

In this episode, I am sharing a bit of a reality check. I am breaking down the four most common "strategies" aspiring Board Members use, and exactly why they don't work in today's market.

Over 90% of Board roles are never advertised. If you are relying on the "Seek.com Approach," you are competing for less than 10% of the seats. It is time to stop playing the lottery and start building a strategy.

I'll walk you through the flaws in the traditional advice and introduce the intentional, strategic framework you need to access the hidden market and land your first, next, or paid Board role.

Key Takeaways

• The "Seek.com" Approach: Why waiting for advertisements means you are missing 90% of the market (and fighting for scraps).
• The Credential Trap: Why another post-nominal won't magically open the Boardroom door, and what Boards are actually looking for.
• The Recruiter Myth: Why the head-hunters who loved you as an executive have suddenly gone silent.
• The "Keep Me in Mind" Mistake: How aimless networking burns relationship capital and makes you look desperate.
• The Better Way: Introduction to an intentional Board Search Strategy (underpinned by a North Star, an Unique Board Value Proposition, and authentic Strategic Networking).

Are you ready to stop waiting? If you want to move from "aspiring" to "appointed" in 2026, I am opening the doors to a new high-touch implementation program: Build Your Board Career.

This is a 3-month intensive (with ongoing support and lifetime membership) designed to help you define your North Star, craft your Unique Board Value Proposition, and build a networking plan to access the hidden market.

Join the Priority Waitlist here

Instead of giving you a lecture or a list of "10 things you must do over Christmas," I'm giving you the exact opposite: full permission to switch off.

Tune in to hear why "strategic rest" is just as important as strategic action and learn about the one decision you need to make now to ensure 2026 is the year you finally land your Board role.

In this episode, I discuss:

• Permission to Rest: Why you cannot be an effective, sharp Board Member if you are constantly running on fumes.
• The "One Decision": A visualisation exercise to ask yourself where you want to be in December 2026—still aspiring, or wrapping up your year as a serving Board Member?
• A Major Announcement: A sneak peek at the new high-touch program launching in the new year, designed to stop the paralysis and get you Board-ready.
• The "Set and Forget" Strategy: How to plant a flag for your future-self right now so you can enjoy your holiday guilt-free.

Build Your Board Career

I'm officially announcing my brand new, high-touch program: Build Your Board Career.

This is a 3-month intensive starting on March 2, 2026, designed to build your brand, refine your value, and execute your Board search strategy. Crucially, the support doesn't stop after the intensive; you get ongoing support to progress your Board goals throughout the year.

It is the solution for aspiring Board Members who want a Board Career Coach in their pocket to guide them, cheer for them, and hold them accountable.

Links & Resources:

Join the Waitlist for Build Your Board Career: Don't worry about filling out applications during your break. Simply put your details on the waitlist to get first access when doors open in February.

Connect with Me:

• Website: Get on Board Australia
• LinkedIn: Lisa Cook

Thank you for tuning in during 2025. Have a safe, rejuvenating break, and I will see you refreshed and ready to go in 2026!