A long time ago, I heard someone give the advice to try work like a duck: paddle like heck underneath the water while trying to look smooth on top. Most executives think that's the goal.

I think it's wrong. A board doesn't lose confidence in you because they can see you working hard. They lose confidence when the surface looks calm and then, without warning, it isn't.

The biggest value board members can contribute is to engage on the "why" instead of "what." Anyone can read a number off a report, and it's awesome if it's a number that feels like smooth sailing.

But the board members who actually earn their seat are the ones asking what's driving that number, and whether all the paddling happening below the surface - the leading indicators of training rollouts, ramp times, pipeline health - raise worries about whether next quarter will look different.

I talked through all of this with Authority Magazine, including the closest thing I have to a personal mission statement: if I could start a movement, it would be one of reclaiming our humanity through genuine interpersonal understanding — which is also, not coincidentally, the subject of my TEDx talk.