The Board Literacy Gap

Why Not Me and What It Really Takes to Get There

We’ve partnered with Deepali Vyas, executive recruiter and strategist, on a four-part series where she will detail out the strategy and opportunities already available at your fingertips in pursuing a boardroom position. She challenges the idea that board seats are something you wait for at the end of your career and guides you on what you can start doing today to best prepare yourself.

The article below addresses how to position yourself for a board seat and understanding the processes to get there.

The Board Literacy Gap

I am Deepali Vyas, Global Head of Data and AI Executive Search at ZRG Partners, and I am widely known as the “Elite Recruiter” across social media where I share unfiltered insights on how careers actually work behind closed doors. Over the course of more than two decades in executive search, I have worked on CEO succession, advised boards and helped shape leadership teams at the highest levels of organizations through firms such as Heidrick & Struggles and Korn Ferry, and now at ZRG Partners. I have had a front row seat to how board seats are discussed, evaluated and ultimately filled, and I can tell you with certainty that the process does not work the way most professionals believe it does.

Deepali Vyas, Global Head of Data and AI Executive Search at ZRG Partners

That is precisely why I am so excited to be a part of e.l.f. Beauty’s Change the Board Game initiative. Their mission to change the board game is rooted in increasing representation and pushing toward true parity on boards, while my mission has always been to democratize access to the rooms where these decisions get made. Together, this four-part editorial series is designed to challenge the traditional narrative and to equip more people with the clarity, strategy and confidence to pursue board opportunities with intention. At the center of this work is a simple but powerful question that too many people hesitate to ask out loud, which is why not me.

Most professionals have been conditioned to think about board seats as something that happens at the end of a long and successful career, almost as a reward for decades of work. That framing is one of the biggest reasons so many highly capable leaders never make it into the boardroom. Board seats are not an outcome that you arrive at after the fact, they are the result of a strategy built and refined over time. Like any meaningful career move, they require foresight, positioning and a deep understanding of how the system actually operates.

What stands in the way for most people is not a lack of capability but a lack of board literacy. There is a meaningful gap between being qualified for a board role and being selected for one, and that gap is rarely addressed in any structured way. Board literacy is not about understanding governance frameworks or committee structures, it is about understanding how decisions are made in practice, who holds influence in those decisions, what boards are truly optimizing for and how candidates are evaluated in rooms that most people never have access to.

Professionals are taught how to build careers, how to deliver results, how to lead teams and how to scale organizations, but they are not taught how to translate that experience into board relevance. As a result, many reach senior levels of leadership having done everything right and still find themselves outside of the board conversation. That is when the question surfaces, often with frustration, as they look at a board and genuinely wonder why not me.

The answer is rarely about capability and almost always about positioning. One of the most persistent and misleading narratives in this space is the idea that there is a shortage of qualified candidates, particularly when it comes to women and underrepresented leaders. From my vantage point inside executive search, I can say with confidence that this is not a talent problem. There is an abundance of highly qualified individuals who have built businesses, led transformations, managed risk at scale and driven meaningful outcomes across industries. What is missing is not talent, but the way that talent is surfaced, validated and connected to the decision makers who ultimately control access to board seats.

Boards do not hire for potential in the way operating roles sometimes do. They make decisions grounded in pattern recognition and risk mitigation. They look for individuals whose experiences they recognize, who bring informed judgment, and who come with trusted references from networks they already rely on. If a candidate is not visible within those networks, they are not considered, regardless of how strong their track record may be. This dynamic is not always intentional, but it is consistent, and it reinforces the same patterns over time.

This is how the system sustains itself, not through explicit exclusion, but through repetition of what feels familiar. The same profiles circulate, the same networks drive access, and the same pathways are followed. If the goal is to change the board game, then both the system and the strategies individuals use to navigate it need to evolve.

A truly board ready candidate is not defined by title or tenure alone, but by how they think, how they are perceived, and how they are positioned. It requires the ability to operate above execution and engage at a strategic level focused on guidance, oversight, and long term value creation. It requires a clear articulation of what that individual brings to a board beyond functional expertise. It also requires proximity to the networks where these conversations happen, because without that proximity, even the most accomplished leaders remain outside the field of consideration.

This is why I encourage my clients to think in terms of what I call a “second arc” career. The first arc is the operating career where individuals build, execute, and lead within organizations. The second arc is where they leverage that experience through board roles, advisory work, investments and portfolio careers that extend their impact. The critical insight is that the second arc does not begin after the first ends, it is built in parallel, often years before someone is formally considered for a board seat.

Deepali Vyas, Global Head of Data and AI Executive Search at ZRG Partners

Waiting until later in your career to think about boards creates a disadvantage that is difficult to overcome. Others have already been building toward that goal with intention. They have sought out relevant experiences, cultivated relationships in the right circles, and developed a narrative that translates operating success into board level relevance. This is not accidental, it is strategic.

The broader context makes this work even more important. There is increasing pressure on organizations to diversify their boards and bring in perspectives that better reflect the markets they serve. While that pressure is necessary, it is not sufficient on its own. Real progress requires a pipeline of candidates who are not only qualified, but prepared, visible, and connected in ways that allow them to be seriously considered.

If the goal is parity, then preparation has to meet opportunity. That is where both individual action and collective effort come together. Initiatives like e.l.f.’s Change the Board Game are critical in shifting the narrative and creating accountability, while individuals must also take ownership of how they position themselves within that evolving landscape.

For years, board access has been limited not just by networks, but by a lack of transparency around how the process actually works. Many highly qualified professionals are simply never taught how boards are built, how candidates are evaluated, or how to position themselves effectively. That gap is not about capability, it is about access to information.

Change the Board Game helps close that gap by focusing on education, awareness, and learning. It demystifies the boardroom, expands understanding of what readiness looks like, and equips more people with the tools to navigate the process with intention. At the same time, learning must translate into action. Individuals still need to apply that knowledge, build relevant experience, and position themselves within the system. Progress happens when education leads to clarity, and clarity leads to movement.

For anyone reading this and asking why not me, the answer begins with recognizing that the path to the boardroom is not passive. It is built through intentional decisions, strategic visibility, and a willingness to step into spaces that may feel unfamiliar. The earlier that shift happens, the more control you have over what comes next.

In the next part of this series, I will break down the real pathway to the boardroom, including the role of nonprofit boards, advisory positions, and private company boards in building momentum toward public board seats. The goal is to move beyond theory and into practical steps that can be applied immediately.

The reality is that you were never unqualified, you were simply never taught how the system works. Once you understand the rules, you can play differently, and that is where the game begins to change.

I am Deepali Vyas, your Elite Recruiter, and this is how we start to change the board game.