Tone at the Top In 2025

In a time of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, disruptive technologies, and fast-changing social norms, boards can have a profound influence not only through their strategic contributions but through the culture they help foster. By setting a steady tone at the top— one that stays true to the mission, upholds the organization’s values, and invites honest dialogue about changes and challenges—boards can inspire renewed confidence and motivation in teams that must navigate this murky environment.

"By setting a steady tone at the top boards can inspire renewed confidence and motivation despite a murky environment."

Uncertainty can be a motivation-killer. Most organizations, like people, thrive with predictability—pathways we can map, relationships we can trust. But the rapid and unpredictable economic, political, and social shifts of 2025 have sparked uncertainty for all kinds of organizations, leaving many to reconsider previously set goals and strategies or plan for a different future. The turmoil sparked by constantly changing tariffs has caused many companies to suspend earnings guidance. Others have delayed planned investments as leadership teams try to get a handle on shifting U.S. policies and consumer behaviors. Many that had expected to seek capital investment this year have seen their playbooks scrambled. 

High levels of uncertainty increase the risk that motivation dissipates, as the projects and goals companies have been driving toward feel less attainable. Notably, more CEOs are heading for the exits this year rather than contend with so many unknowns and challenges.

Stay Mission-Focused to Counteract Uncertainty

A sure antidote to feelings of uncertainty is clarity of purpose. When the goalposts have moved or the path toward them is so littered with new obstacles that it’s no longer clear how to proceed, step back and refocus on the mission.

"A market change or setback doesn’t have to mean working harder and achieving less; it can instead unleash a new set of creative solutions."

Alignment around the organization's mission is always important—it’s the key to ensuring that everyone is pulling in the same direction. To keep it in focus and reinforce its importance, some boards display the mission statement in the boardroom or read it aloud at the start of the meeting. It can serve as a guide for decision-making as boards ask, How would this initiative advance the mission and is this the best option to do so?  

Staying focused on the mission is especially helpful when well-considered plans may no longer make sense. Many boards today are helping management devise a Plan B and even a Plan C, as they seek smart pathways through a changed and changing landscape in which many prior assumptions have been upended. One way to approach the moment is to ask, What changes to the strategy, or new strategies, will enable the organization to thrive and fulfill its mission in the current environment?  

When leadership can step back from its prior plans to reset the course in a positive direction, it helps the whole enterprise side-step the frustration and disappointment that lead to demotivation. A market change or setback doesn’t have to mean working harder and achieving less; it can instead unleash a new set of creative solutions. By modeling open-mindedness about how the mission might best be fulfilled in the current circumstance, the board invites team members across an organization to think more flexibly and creatively about what’s possible. 

When Actions Carry Extra Weight, Model Respect & Integrity

As social norms and expectations shift rapidly and profoundly, stakeholders of all types—customers, employees, partners, investors, and more— are paying close attention to how organizations respond. Boards have a responsibility to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, and many also see an opportunity to model respect for core values and acting with integrity.

For example many U.S. corporations have publicly suspended their DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) efforts in response to executive orders issued by President Trump, and nearly all champions of board diversity have withdrawn their insistence on inclusion in the boardroom, (including investment managers BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street and others who once led the drive for change).

Boards can set a reassuring tone during this tumultuous time by ensuring the enterprise acts with integrity and upholds its core values. Enterprises that place a high value on diverse backgrounds and/or extending opportunities to a broader audience might have disbanded specific programs or targets that don't conform to current government guidance, yet many are seeking to identify new legally compliant initiatives and policies. Boards can help set a tone of integrity for such organizations by acknowledging these intentions and supporting management's efforts with constructive suggestions to identify appropriate means by which to fulfill rather than abandon its goals.

This is not an invitation for the organization to take a political stand, something that most boards, like the general public, don't support. Confirming a commitment to values, however, can be a powerful aide in recruiting and retaining talent and customers. 

"The topics board members show interest in, the questions they ask, how they react to information and treat others can influence management in ways large and small."

When considering how values are actually transmitted throughout an organization, it’s worth acknowledging that board member behaviors have an outsize impact—the topics board members show interest in, the questions they ask (and don't ask), how they react to information, treat others, and “show up” can influence management in ways large and small, and ripple out across the organization.

As a board member, now’s a good time to think about how best to use that influence. Ideally, board members will help set a tone of reassurance and respect for all and an unwavering commitment to ethical behavior.  

When board members model ethical behavior and integrity, others follow suit. When the board upholds the core values, especially when those values are challenged, they bolster confidence in and respect for the organization. These behaviors go a long way toward reassuring all constituents that the company can be trusted to do the right thing. A board that conveys the importance of the enterprise's core values will ensure they endure.

Invite Honest Dialogue to Reinforce Trust and Surface Risks

Open dialogue about the challenges a company faces is always a board best practice and is truly essential in times of rapid change when staying informed and understanding new risks and their potential impacts can make all the difference.

Boards can and should set a tone of honesty and cultivate trust with management. 

"Assure the management team that it is safe to bring up “bad news.” 

No organization can thrive when critical information never makes it to the boardroom because management is reticent to deliver anything but positive updates. It's essential  that the management team feels that it is safe to bring up “bad news.” Ideally, the board's response to setbacks focuses on understanding the causes or underlying issues and helping to identify potential solutions, while avoiding unnecessarily critical or adversarial reactions. This builds trust. 

Holding executive leadership accountable and respectfully challenging their perspective is a hallmark of good governance. So too is  “listening to understand” and showing empathy for a leader navigating unforeseen challenges. 

Assuming the board is confident in the CEO, it will ideally set a tone that is supportive of management that is neither overly deferential nor overly critical. It can be a tricky balance to strike, but worth working to get right. 

The benefits of open, honest communication at this time are many: When the management team is comfortable sharing the challenges they face, the board stays closer to the issues and can better understand and guide key decisions. Through attentive listening and respectful questioning, the board builds trust with management and signals there’s a safe space to talk through difficulties and get help solving them.  

Finally, by role-modeling an open, respectful style of communication especially around challenging issues, the board is setting a tone that will spread throughout the organization: When senior leadership knows it is safe to share challenges with the board, those leaders will in turn encourage team members to admit mistakes and expose “bad news” without fear of undue criticism or castigation, leading to more opportunities for leaders to offer the support and collaboration needed to solve them.  

One Thing That’s Certain: Tone Is Set at the Top

The ripple effects of a board's behavior extend far beyond the boardroom. As uncertainty continues to define our landscape, boards that excel in setting a tone of certainty, (this is our mission, these are our core values), and trust (this is a safe space in which to tell the truth about the business) will enable teams to cut through the noise and stay motivated to do what it takes for the business to thrive.  

Further Reading:  

Five Ways Boards Can Lead Corporate Culture (Boardspan)  

Tone at the Top: Exploring the Impact of Leadership Attitudes and Behaviors on Culture (Berkeley ExecEd) 

The Role Core Values Play in Strategy Execution (Harvard Business Review) 

Are Board Diversity Rules Coming to An End? (UC Berkeley Law) 

Corporate America Navigates Widespread Uncertainty (Entrepreneur)  

About the Author

Kaitlin Quistgaard is Senior Vice President of Board Excellence at Boardspan. She advises boards on governance and performance with a focus on fine-tuning board practices to increase the opportunities for board members to make their greatest contributions. She also oversees Boardspan's CEO Review practice, bringing deep expertise to the process of evaluating performance and delivering constructive feedback to chief executives. Her work supports effective oversight and equips directors to lead through complexity and change.

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