mckinsey -从高管层走进董事会 克里斯蒂安娜・史密斯・施畅谈所需具备的素养 From the C-suite to the boardroom Christiana Smith Shi on what it takes

July2026

Mckunsey

&company

Strategy&CorporateFinancePractice

FromtheC-suitetothe

boardroom:Christiana

SmithShionwhatittakes

Forexecutives,thedevelopmentalopportunitymaybeclear,butwhatdoesboardservicereallyentail?

Inthisepisodeofthe

InsidetheStrategyRoompodcast

,SeniorPartnerEmeritus

CeliaHuber

speakswith

ChristianaSmithShi

,whositsontheboardsofColumbiaSportswearandUPSandischairofHabitatforHumanityInternational.Astoday’schallengingmacroenvironmentand

ever-evolvingbusinessrisksincreaseboardmembers’timecommitments,SmithShiopenstheboardroomdoortorevealwhatlooksdifferentacrossnot-for-profitsandcorporateboards,andwhatdrivesboardeffectiveness.Shealsoshareshowexecutivescanapproachthedevelopmentopportunitiesthatboardserviceoffers.

Thisisaneditedtranscriptoftheirconversation.Formorediscussionsonthestrategyissuesthatmatter,followtheserieson

yourpreferredpodcastplatform

.

CeliaHuber:Christiana,you’vehadasuccessfulcareerasbothamanagementconsultantandanexecutiveatNike.You’vealsoservedonmultipleboards,includingWilliamsSonoma,WestMarine,and,currently,ColumbiaSportswear,UPS,andHabitatforHumanity.Whatfirst

attractedyoutoboardservice?

ChristianaSmithShi:Ijoinedmyfirstboardinparttoseewhatitwasliketobeontheother

sideofthetable.Asanexecutiveoraconsultantworkingwithclients,you’representing,you’readvising.Iwantedtoseewhatitwasliketositintheseat.AndatMcKinsey,Ihadseenthe

terrificimpactthatboardservicecanhaveonexecutivedevelopment.WhenIwasCOOofdirecttoconsumeratNikeandwasinlinetobecomepresident,whichultimatelyhappened,IthoughttherewasprobablyalotofenterpriseperspectivetopickupifIsatinaboardroom.

CeliaHuber:Tellmeaboutthatinitialtransition.Youhadyourexecutivehatonduringtheday,thenputontheboardhat.Wasthatdifficult?

ChristianaSmithShi:Ithinkforsomeonewho’sbeenasenioradviser,thetransitiontobeingaboardmemberfromanexecutivewasprobablyeasier.AtMcKinsey,evenasaseniorpartner,

you’reusedtonotbeingtheonemakingthedecisions.You’recertainlydoingyourbesttotailortheadvicetotheclientandthesituation,butultimately,it’stheircall.It’sthesamewhenyou’reinaboardroom,andforsomeexecutives,that’sthemostdifficulthurdleastheymovefrom

runningtheirownshowtosittingonaboard.Thereisasetofdecisionsboardsgettomake,butit’slimited.Inmostareas,it’stheCEOandtheleadershipteam’scall.Theywantyouradviceandperspective,butintheend,they’rerunningthebusiness,andyouarenot.I’vehadtoremind

myselfofthatseveraltimes,particularlywhenI’veservedonboardsthatareclosetomyfieldofexpertise.Yousitthereandthink,“Oh,IknowwhatI’ddoifitwereme.”Well,itisn’tyou.

CeliaHuber:Ourannualboardsurveyhasshownthatthetimeneededforboardmeetingpreparationisupwardof30daysandisincreasing.Doesthatreflectyourexperience?

ChristianaSmithShi:I’veservedonboardsfor14years,andthetimecommitmenthas

definitelygoneup.Specificmacrochallengeshavedrivensomeofthat,butthere’salsoa

broaderperceptionofriskinthebusinessenvironment.Inowtellpeoplewhoareconsideringjoiningboardstoassumeitwilltakeabout15percentoftheirtime.You’vegotcommittee

FromtheC-suitetotheboardroom:ChristianaSmithShionwhatittakes2

FromtheC-suitetotheboardroom:ChristianaSmithShionwhatittakes3

‘Oneoftherealitiesofboardservicethatsurprisespeopleisthatmostoftheworkgetsdoneincommittee.’

—ChristianaSmithShi

meetingsandtheboardmeetings,butthere’salmostalwaysworkinbetween—extracommitteecallsandcallswiththeCEO.Ifyou’rechairingacommittee,there’sthatpreparation.Andthen

there’stheprereads.

CeliaHuber:So,ifwethinkaboutboardeffectiveness,whatdoyouthinkittakestobeagreatboardmember,oragreatcommitteemember?

ChristianaSmithShi:Ithinkthefirstthingthatmakesagreatboardmemberisunderstandingthatyouarenotthereoperationally,asI’vesaid.Thesecondthingisbuildingtrust.It’struefor

anyoneonanyteam,butit’sparticularlytruewithaCEO.It’safunnysituationwhenyouthink

aboutthefactthatCEOshelpselecttheboardmembers,butthoseboardmembersare

effectivelytheCEO’sboss.Howmanytimesinourcareerdowegettohireourboss?So,you

interviewwiththeCEO,andthenliterallyinthefirstboardmeetingyou’vegottomakethe

transitionof,“I’mheretorepresentstakeholdersofallkinds,nottorepresentyouastheCEO,

buttosupportyouincreatingthevaluethatweallknowthiscompanycancreate.”Ithinkany

boardmemberwhokeepsthatmindset—andacknowledgestherearecertainthingsthey’llhavetotelltheCEOthatmaybetheoppositeofwhattheywanttohear—willmakeagoodboard

member.

Oneoftherealitiesofboardservicethatsurprisespeopleisthatmostoftheworkgetsdoneincommittee.Agoodchunkofthetimeinboardmeetingsisthecommitteesreportingbackon

whatthey’vedoneandbringingrecommendationstotheboardforapproval.Inthecommittee

itself,youmakesomedecisionsthat,basedonthebylaws,onlythecommitteehastoopineon.Agoodcommitteememberunderstandsthevalueofthatwork.Itisparticularlydifficultwhen

youhaveacommitteememberwhodoesn’tdothereading—asirritatingasitistoreceivea

boardbookthat’s450pageslong,andacommitteebookthat’s85pagesplusanappendix,youneedtoreaditbecausethat’swhatyouaretherefor.You’vegottohaveapointofview,andagoodcommitteemembercangetadiscussiongoing;thenthecommitteecanworkitsway

throughanytensions.

FromtheC-suitetotheboardroom:ChristianaSmithShionwhatittakes4

Ithinkthelastthingis,you’vegottogodeep.Ifyou’reontheriskcommitteelikeIamatUPS,youneedtounderstandandbeengagedwithcyberrisk,physicalsecurityrisk,locationrisk,

aerospacerisk,aviationrisk,andawholerangeofrisks.Inmyopinion,that’spartofthefunofbeingonaboard,howmuchyoulearninthecommitteesandhowcurrentyoucanstayasanexecutiveevenwhenyou’renotinanoperatingrole.

CeliaHuber:HowdoyoupersonallykeepcurrentontopicssuchasAIorrisk,andstayontopofindustrytrends?

ChristianaSmithShi:Ithinkthere’sathree-partapproach.First,inawell-runboard,therewillbeboardeducation.AtHabitat,weuseonemeetingayearwhereweholdpartoftheagendaforthatpurpose.Second,therearemanyboardsupportorganizations,suchastheNational

AssociationofCorporateDirectors(NACD)and50/50WomenOnBoards,thatoffer

educationalprogramsfordirectorsandevencertifications.AndwhileIdon’tthinkanyofushavetimetorunofftoconferencesallthetime,Ialwaystrytopickoneortwoeachyeartoattend.

Thethirdpointismoreaboutindustry-specifictopicsrelatedtothecompany’sbusinessandtheboardyou’reon.Forme,thatmeansstayingcurrentontheissuesinthatparticularsector.Youneedallthreeanglestostayfresh.

CeliaHuber:Let’stalkaboutdecision-makingintheboardroom.SomeCEOscomplainthattheyhavetoreiteratetotheboardconstantly—firstintroduceanidea,thenexpandonit,then,

perhapsatthethirdboardmeeting,getadecision.Whatmakesiteasiertogettoadecisionquickly?

ChristianaSmithShi:Theideaofathree-stagedecisionprocessisn’tterrible,anditdoesn’thavetotakealongtime.Forinstance,whenwe’retalkingaboutM&A,wemaymovethrough

thosethreephasesoveraperiodoftwoorthreeweeks.Idothinkyouneedtogiveboards

multiplebitesattheapplewhenyou’retalkingaboutamajordecision,whetherit’salarge

acquisitionoramajorchangetoacompensationpolicy.Youaredoingadisserviceiftheboarddoesnothavetimetogetallitsquestionsonthetable.That’swhatthey’retherefor,right?Butyoucanalsomovequicklywhenthesituationdemandsit.WhereI’veseenthatworkiswhen

CEOsarewillingtodoboardcallsandgivetheboardaheadsup:“There’sasmallsetof

companiesthatwe’reinterestedin,weareindifferentdiscussionswitheach.Ateveryboardmeeting,I’llletyouknowwhereweare,butifoneofthemheatsup,we’regoingtohaveacall,andwemayneedtosendyousomeinformationinbetween.”Thenitdoesn’tcomeoutoftheblue.

CeliaHuber:Howmuchisconsensusversusdebateintheboardroom,andisthereadangerintoomuchconsensus?

ChristianaSmithShi:Iwouldratherhaveaboardthatactivelydebatesdecisionsinthe

boardroomthanaboardthatjustrubberstampseverything.Ihaven’tbeenonaboardthat

rubberstamps;however,Ihaveseengroupthinkcreepin.It’saparticularriskforboardsthat

havebeentogetherforawhile,soI’mabigfanoftermlimitsandboardrefreshment.I’malsoa

FromtheC-suitetotheboardroom:ChristianaSmithShionwhatittakes5

‘Youneedtogiveboardsmultiplebitesattheapplewhenyou’retalkingaboutamajordecision.’

—ChristianaSmithShi

bigfanofsuccessionplanning,whereyoulookatyourboard’sskillsmatrixandensurethat,overtime,you’restayingrelevantandcontemporary.Allthosethingscanhelpyouavoidasituation

wheretheboardisconsensus-driven.

ButalotofthathastodowiththeCEO’srelationshipwiththeboard,andwhattheyviewthe

boardistheretodo.IsometimestalkaboutaspectrumthatIseeCEOson.Atoneend,the

boardisregardedasanecessaryevil:“OK,Ihavetohavethesepeople.Theycostmealotof

moneyandalotofpaineverythreeorfourmonths,butI’mgoingtodomybesttokeepthemintheirbox,andI’lldomyownthing.”That’satthelowerendofthematuritycurve.Andthenattheotherend,youhavetheCEOswhosay,“Myboardisasourceofcompetitiveadvantage.You

wishyouhadmyboard.”

CeliaHuber:You’veservedonauniquesetofboards,fromverylargepubliccompaniesto

publiccompanieswithfamilyownershiptosmallercompanies.Youarenowontheboardofalargeglobalnot-for-profit.Whatarethebiggestdifferencesyouseeacrossthesetypesof

organizationsintheboardroom?

ChristianaSmithShi:Ithinkcompaniesingeneralareonaspectrumofmaturing.Ifyou’re

workingwithaprivatecompany,astart-up,orasmall,just-IPO’dcompany,it’sverycommonfortheboardtobemoreinvolvedinoperationaldecisions.TheymightalsoplayamoreconsultativerolefortheCEOandtheirteam.AndtheCEOisoftendealingwithaboardthatisamixofboardmemberstheyhaveselectedandboardmemberstheirinvestorshavetoldthemtheyhaveto

take.So,you’llsometimesseethedynamicintheboardroomisalittledifferent—perhapsit

takesawhiletowarmupandforpeopletoreallystartworkingtogether,becausetheyaren’tallcomingfromthesameperspective.

Ifyougoallthewaytotheotherendtoaverymature,large,for-profitcompany,Ithinkyou’ll

typicallyfindamorecohesiveboardroom,inthesensethatmostofthepeopleareexperiencedandknowwhatthey’retheretodo.Someofthemarestillinoperatingroles,somearen’t,butthemechanicsofitareunderstood.Andsotheboardislikelymorefocusedonanarrowersetof

FromtheC-suitetotheboardroom:ChristianaSmithShionwhatittakes6

‘Ifthefounderisstillinvolved,youhaveboththeblessingsandthe

challengesthatcomewiththat.’

—ChristianaSmithShi

topics:theoverallstrategy,overallinvestmentlevels,capitalallocations,andhiring,developing,andevaluatingtheCEO.

CeliaHuber:AndhowisitdifferentatHabitatforHumanity?

ChristianaSmithShi:Whenyou’resittingontheboardofalargenot-for-profit,youstart

almosteveryconversationwiththemission:“Howdoweservethatmission?Howdoesthis

decisionrelatetoourabilitytoservethatmission?”Youalsohavethecraziestfinancials.There’sunallocatedrevenue,allocatedrevenue;you’vegotgrantmoney,you’vegotgrantmoneythat’sbeenpromisedbuthasn’tshownupyet.Alltheaccountingisdifferent.

IsitontheauditandfinancecommitteeforHabitatforHumanity,andIhadtoinvestthefirst

threeyearsintolearningtobeacompetentauditcommitteememberinthatenvironment.Andthen,theteamisdifferent.Youhavepeoplewhoaretypicallycompensatedatalowerlevelthanyou’dseeinthecorporateworld,whoareincrediblygoodatwhattheydoandincredibly

passionateaboutwhattheydobutperhapsnotasexperiencedinbusiness.InHabitat’scase,

we’relookingtoincreaseaccesstoaffordablehousingforeveryone.We’vegotpeoplefrom

construction,we’vegotpeoplefromresourcedevelopment,grantmaking,allsortsofareasofexpertise.Andthenyou’vegottheboard,whichtypicallycomesfromeitheralargedonor

perspectiveoracorporateexperienceperspective.Ittakesawhileforagrouplikethattoreallygel.

CeliaHuber:You’vealsoservedonafamily-dominatedboardatColumbiaSportswear.Howdoyouthinkthat’sdifferent?

ChristianaSmithShi:WhenIlookbackattheboardsI’vebeenon,they’velargelybeen

founder-orfamily-ledcompanies.Andwhat’sdifferentaboutthatistheirstageofdevelopmentandtheirleadershipcanbequitedifferentfroma75-year-oldFortune100company.Ifthe

founderisstillinvolved,youhaveboththeblessingsandthechallengesthatcomewiththat.Theblessingisthatthefounderorthefamilyheadwho’srunningthebusinessunderstandswhatthe

FromtheC-suitetotheboardroom:ChristianaSmithShionwhatittakes7

company’stheretodo.Theyknowallthehistory;theyunderstandthebrandanditslegacy.Andtheytypicallyhavedeepadmirationfromemployees,rightdowntothefrontline.Thekindwheretheywalkthroughthecafeteria,andeverybodywantstostopandgetaquickhellofromthem.

Thechallengeisthatit’sveryhardtofindthebalancebetweengivingadvicethatfeelsrightforthebrandandthecompany’slegacy,whilealsobeingcontemporary.Partoftheboard’sjobistolookaheadandbringinideasfromoutside.Thatcanbeabitmorechallenginginafounder-ledkindofsituation.

Andthen,whetherit’sfounder-orfamily-led,theotherchallengethatmostboardswillwrestlewithisCEOsuccessionplanning.Ifthefamilystillholdsadominantshareinthecompany,eventhoughit’spublic,theremaybeanheirapparent.It’sjustaschallengingwhenthenext

generationdoesn’twanttorunthebusiness.You’llalsoseesomeofthatinacorporate

environmentwhenaCEOhasbeengroominganexecutivewhomtheyreallythinkshouldbetheirsuccessor.

CeliaHuber:Forexecutiveswhoarethinkingaboutboardserviceaspartoftheirown

development,doyouthinknonprofitsareagoodtrainingground?Andhowcantheymakethemselvesmoreattractivetocorporateboards?

ChristianaSmithShi:Ialwayssaynonprofitscanbeaverygoodsteppingstonetocorporateorpubliccompanyboardservice.However,youhavetoholdthebarveryhigh.Ifyou’regoingtodononprofitboardserviceprimarilybecauseit’syourpassion,andyouwanttoserveyour

communityandfellowhumans,thendowhateveryouwant.Ifyouwanttolearnthekindsof

thingsthatwillmakeyouabettercandidateforcorporateboardservice,thenyouneedtopickaveryhigh-qualitynonprofittostartwith.Forinstance,itneedstohaveitsfinancialsinorder,andyouwantcommitteestructuressothatyoucanunderstandthatmostoftheworkgetsdonein

committees,notintheboardroom.Youwanttohavealeadershipteamthatworkscloselywiththeboard.Youwanttounderstandtheirgovernance,andyouwantthattobetight.So,ifit’s

meanttobeatrainingground,thenyouneedtoexamineitfromthesamekindoflensthatyouwoulduseforacorporateboard.Ifyoudothatright,youwilllearnagreatdealandbecomeamoreattractivecandidateforcorporateboardse