As fresh risks and opportunities arise, boards will be challenged in ways that are new to all, perhaps even unimaginable in the past. Technology disruption, regulatory changes, stakeholder demands, market shifts, and competitive dynamics are constantly stretching boards to bring new thinking to their governance mandate. In this environment, board success relies more heavily than ever on having appropriate expertise around the table.
Much as the companies they serve are being pushed to evolve, boards are expected to model adaptability. This means staying open to adding members with new skills and experience, rethinking board structures for oversight agility and strategic depth, and investing in cultural competencies that translate to more effective director relationships, discussions and decision-making.
Rethink Composition: Board turnover hit a multi-year low in 2025, underscoring a persistent challenge: even as boards recognize their changing expertise needs, actual refreshment often lags behind strategic intent. We know many boards are thoughtfully considering their future composition pondering some critical questions. What new skills, expertise, and qualities might it need? How will the board contribute to the organization’s goals? What is the best way to fill critical gaps while retaining most valuable skills already on the board?
Objectively, boards that undertake a detailed skills analysis to develop a comprehensive picture of current and future talent needs will be at an advantage. Catalyzing a multi-year board succession plan, boards can use these insights to create a roadmap for evolving their composition to meet emerging demands.
Examine Committee Structures: For years we’ve been saying committees are the workhorses of the board, where much of the heavy lifting gets done; increasingly they’re becoming the racehorses, as well. It’s not enough to have audit committee members who know how the numbers come together; these financial experts are increasingly expected to contribute to strategy discussions in the full board meeting. The remit of compensation committee members continues to grow as they help address broader team and talent matters. Nominating & governance committees have a growing role in culture, CEO succession planning, and board leadership success, among other areas. Increasingly boards find they benefit from having operators on every committee and greater technology expertise across the board.
As the demands continue evolving, it is incumbent on the board to do committee succession planning as well as board succession planning. Ensuring that committees have board members who have the skills, time, enthusiasm, and background to do this work, and quite possibly chair their committee, is the hallmark of effective governance.
Expand Director Knowledge: As boards play an ever-more pivotal role, every member needs to be at the top of their game. This means individually and collectively seeking to remedy knowledge gaps and stay up to date on key areas of board oversight including new technologies, regulatory changes, expanded board responsibilities. We see boards bringing in external advisors to level up the board’s knowledge of AI, significant policy movement, evolving governance issues, and more, even as individual directors invest time developing their knowledge though courses, webinars, publications and more.
Double Down on Culture: Let’s face it – boards are people too. They want to be heard and know their contributions make a difference. Most come from executive positions where they were “the boss” or one of the top influencers in their professional realm. It’s no wonder that coming together as a group is magical when it works but challenging to make it happen. Board chairs (and lead independent directors) who lean in to facilitate discussions and ensure every voice is heard are scoring points among their board colleagues. Underscoring the importance of a healthy culture, boards will benefit from members who purposefully cultivate open-mindedness and patience with each other. While diverse perspectives around the table may make it harder to reach immediate alignment, patience and persistence rewards all. The most effective boards find common ground, pressure-test new ideas, and seek innovative thinking that can arise when minds stay open.
