What does it take for a board to be truly effective today, what gets in the way, and how are leading boards overcoming those barriers?

In brief

• Directors say the quality and flow of information from management is a key driver of board effectiveness, but performance is uneven across boards.
• Boards want more time on AI, talent and geopolitics, and leading boards improve information and meeting practices to get it instead of just adding hours.
• Directors see board composition as an area of weakness, but many are taking steps to refresh membership to acquire new skills.

Your board agenda is packed, your board book is longer than ever, and the topics that matter most are moving faster than the scheduled meeting cycle. Coupled with stakeholders’ rising expectations of board members and activists on the hunt for targets, directors cannot afford missteps. The fundamentals of board effectiveness are urgently needed to navigate a world whose challenges are becoming daily more acute.

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