When it comes to driving real business transformation and change, not every board member is cut from the same cloth...
As a founder or potential board member yourself, who joins you in this boardroom is one of the most critical decisions you'll make or otherwise deeply assess.
After all, talent starts at the top, and to create real momentum, you must build a board with other leaders eager to make an impact. These are specific leadership archetypes who are willing to challenge the norm, ask tough questions, and push organizations to rethink how they approach growth and strategy.
One of these tough questions is: “Do we have the right leaders and, specifically, board members in place to help execute our company’s goals and lead us through the next phase of growth?” This is an especially important question companies are asking themselves as they quickly approach the next year and plan to take on newer, bigger, and more ambitious growth goals.
Big Changes Are Coming... Do You Have the Right Leadership in (Board) Seats?
As we approach the new year, companies are gearing up for many large changes and have set eyes on lofty new goals. According to our recent market survey, the top five transformations organizations plan to execute in the next 12–24 months are:
- Implementing a new revenue model
- Market expansion
- Launching a new product
- Achieving profitability
- Shifting workplace culture
Additionally, the top 3 departments organizations/leaders foresee changing the most (as it relates to budget, structure, headcount, and compensation) in order to drive effective transformation in these areas are:
- Tech/Product/Engineering
- Exec/Management/Ops
- Sales/BD/GTM
With many plans for change and new business initiatives on the horizon, having the right leadership in seat is crucial. And as Marie-Michèle Caron tells us, companies need the right mix of archetypes—visionary innovators, agile strategists, and seasoned operators—to steer the ship effectively.
Executive Operator, Serial Advisor & Board Member, Marie-Michèle Caron Shares 6 Board Member Archetypes That Drive Real Business Transformation
To better understand the makings of an effective board, we turned to Marie-Michele Caron, a powerhouse executive with over 20 years of experience advising and scaling SaaS businesses, leading international expansions, and serving on multiple boards where she’s driven strategic growth for a vast array of companies in different growth stages.
We asked Marie for her unfiltered take on the top qualities and leadership archetypes a board needs to have if they want to stop talking about change—and start making it happen.
1. The Industry Mainstay 💼
It's not a board without one. Starting on the foundational level, this archetype is a tried-and-true expert with deep knowledge and experience in the industry in which the company operates. The Industry Plant offers insights grounded in years of navigating the sector, with real-world experiences, growing pains, and lessons to draw from.
Their expertise ensures the board is informed by challenges and trends they’ve personally experienced, navigated, and can guide others with.
Marie-Michèle’s Take: “First and foremost, you need someone with a strong understanding of the industry that can provide insights, contacts, and a very specific business context that not everybody will have. Look for deep expertise in your industry and adjacent sectors. At the very basic level, you need this archetype.”
2. The Disruptor/Devil’s Advocate 💥
This board member archetype thrives on challenging the status quo, ensuring no groupthink or complacency. While this leader tends to push boundaries and question assumptions, they do so with the best intent to drive innovation and foster healthy diversity in thought to lead the org to new places.
Marie-Michèle’s Take: “Every board can benefit from having a bit of a devil's advocate. Sometimes, if you have someone who's too much in your industry or has 20 years’ experience doing something a certain way, you’ll want someone on the flip side who’s open and willing to disrupt the status quo. This is especially true if you're at a new startup trying to break through and bring a new way to do business.
It’s a balance at the end of the day. You want that deep industry knowledge, but you need a healthy counterpart to help the company evolve and transform.”
3. The Long-Term Strategic Thinker 🤔
Focused on the future, this archetype sets the strategic direction and aligns short-term decisions with long-term goals. They are key to ensuring the company is always thinking ahead and prepared for future challenges without getting too lost in the minutia or bogged down in the details. Without their foresight, a board (and the org at large) risks being reactive instead of proactively shaping its own path for transformation.
Marie-Michèle’s Take: “The strategic thinking and vision are so important. When you think about it, the board member does not come in and operate. They’re in support of the CEO and the executive team, who are the real operators. So this archetype needs to be someone with the ability to think long term and set the strategic direction.”
4. The Finance Aficionado 💵
This archetype is a financial expert whose main priority is ensuring fiscal responsibility and doubling down on the right bets. They manage risk, control spending, and ensure the company’s financial health is always in check without holding the purse strings too tight that the company remains stagnant.
Marie-Michèle’s Take: “This is someone with deep financial expertise who knows their way around a budget or can come in and develop a financial plan for the next three, five, ten years. It’s someone who also has an operational background and can help think through motions and to where to invest first, next, and third.”
5. The Keeper of the Keys 🔑
Responsible for governance and compliance, The Keeper of the Keys safeguards the company’s ethical and legal standing. Their focus is primarily to protect the organization from potential risks while maintaining transparency and integrity in every board decision.
Marie-Michèle’s Take: “A great board member understands the responsibility of corporate governance, the principle, and the ethics involved. Sometimes, especially in smaller boards, a member is also on the cap table or an investor. When this is the case, you have to be able to discern and make the right decision for the company’s and the shareholders’ interest, not just uniquely you as a shareholder of the company.
If a board member is thinking about exiting their position as soon as possible, it's going to influence their decisions and thinking. So all board members need this quality, but this person especially needs to be a pillar for governance and fiduciary responsibility.”
6. The Super-Connector 🤝
“I who knows a guy, who knows a guy.”
This archetype leverages a vast and interconnected network to open doors for strategic partnerships, business development, and funding. The Super-Connector brings opportunities and relationships from a variety of sectors, verticals, and experience levels that can accelerate the company’s growth and influence.
Marie-Michèle’s Take: “Every board needs network and influence. In all stages, you want to have board members who have a strong network that can help your company with introductions to partnerships, customers, and just valuable contacts in the industry. It can start with something as easy as going on their LinkedIn page and seeing if they’re connected.
Are they part of international conferences? Specific associations? Even evaluating things like their follower count can be indicative of their span and reach.”
Is Your Board Filled With True Change-Makers, or Are They Just Keeping the Seats Warm?
When asked to share about one of the main qualities she finds in any successful board or executive teammate, Caron shared, “I believe it’s the only passionate people who wake up in the morning and want to make a change.”
Passion drives action, but it’s the right mix of visionary leadership and archetypes that turn ambition into transformation.
Learn More About How Marie-Michèle Can Help You Find the Right Archetypes For Your Board
Marie-Michèle Caron is an advisory leader and global executive in the Hunt Club ExpertAccess Program, which puts first-string operators in your back pocket for all things talent so you can hire better, smarter, and faster.
