Growing diversity through diversity

Originally hailing from Scotland, Melanie Templeton MinstD has been living in New Zealand for 30 years. “I jokingly call myself a Skiwi – a Scottish Kiwi,” says the Wellington-based independent director who was a mentor in the IoD’s Mentoring for Diversity programme in 2023/24. 

With Egyptian/Lebanese heritage, Templeton describes her background as diverse in culture and religion, and has family based in Canada, France and England. Equal parts down-to-earth and matter of fact, she communicates directly, sans any sharp edges. 

“You can’t have prickly people on a board . . . prickly people who get prickly about things,” she says with a distinct Scottish accent. “That’s not going to work because you have to be able to take a step back and take a breath when you don’t agree with something someone has said.” 

As a mentee in the MFD programme in 2018, Templeton says she knew exactly what she wanted to get out of it, including how to navigate strong personalities, troubleshooting and preparing for interviews for board roles. 

Now as a mentor, she has enjoyed the two-way exchange that enables emerging directors to grow. Last year, she mentored Barb Long, “a great mentee who was open to listening and contemplating different ways of looking at things – and of looking at herself and how she might change her trajectory over time”. 

“She’ll be a great director and will get on the boards that need her skill sets. I would absolutely recommend her for any board she goes for,” Templeton says. 

Like Templeton, Long also had a clear view of what she wanted from the programme, including discussing one of the big questions: How do you balance an executive career with a board career? 

Templeton cuts to the chase, likening it to having a part-time job on top of a full- time executive role, and cautions people against it because of the commitment and hours required. Inevitably, board time eats into personal and family life, and she wants people to be realistic about that.

“It’s not easy. Board roles are demanding and something’s got to give. It’s not for everybody,” she says.

For those executives that are seriously considering taking on governance roles, Templeton advises they negotiate at least some hours’ reduction from their role to accommodate extra work needed for a board role because “it isn’t the same as going for your next job”. 

“When you’re early on in your director career, there’s so much to learn and so many nuances around the board table. It’s hard to break into, and you don’t know what you need on your CV or what people are looking for. It’s tough,” she says. 

As for what diversity means and what prospective candidates for the Mentoring for Diversity programme should consider, Templeton says rather than focusing on the diversity piece, it comes back to the one question: Why do they want to go into governance? 

“Do you know anyone already in governance and have you spoken to them? And if you have, what have you learned that makes you interested in boards and governance, and becoming a director?” 

While many organisations are grappling with either a push for diversity or figuring out their own definition of it, for Templeton it means a range of things. “It’s not only cultural or gender, or age, it’s also backgrounds, heuristics, education and societies or communities that you were brought up in – it’s a way of learning,” she says.