The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:32:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png Five Things the Strongest Boards Do Differently – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 Five Things the Strongest Boards Do Differently https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/07/07/five-things-the-strongest-boards-do-differently/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=five-things-the-strongest-boards-do-differently https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/07/07/five-things-the-strongest-boards-do-differently/#respond Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:32:29 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=182240?d=20260706163626EDT Posted by Rusty O’Kelley, Richard Fields, and Laura Sanderson, Russell Reynolds Associates, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Editor's Note:

Rusty O’Kelley co-leads the Global Board & CEO Advisory Practice, Richard Fields is the global leader of the Board Effectiveness Practice, and Laura Sanderson is a senior member of the Board and CEO Advisory practice at Russell Reynolds Associates. This post is based on a Russell Reynolds memorandum by Mr. O’Kelley, Mr. Fields, Ms. Sanderson, Marc Sanglé-Ferrière, and Alix Pollack.

Board effectiveness is being tested and defined in real time. AI, geopolitics, activism, sustainability, CEO succession, board refreshment, and stakeholder scrutiny are more interconnected, faster moving, and more visible than ever before. Yet, many board operating models, built for a more linear environment, have not kept pace with that change.

RRA’s 2025 Global Board Culture and Director Behaviors Study underscores that while directors understand the behaviors that matter, they don’t practice them consistently. This isn’t because boards lack awareness. It’s because effective governance now depends on whether the board has designed itself to make better judgment more likely: in how it spends time, leads discussion, uses expertise, evaluates itself, and prepares for uncertainty.

(more…)

]]> https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/07/07/five-things-the-strongest-boards-do-differently/feed/ 0