Boards need a variety of information to make informed decisions. This includes both qualitative data (e.g. the impact an action could impact the culture of an organization, or the stakeholders affected) and quantitative data (e.g. legal due diligence or return on investment analysis). It is the duty of management https://boardmeetingtool.net/board-chair-responsibilities/ to ensure that the right people are collecting this information and strategically analyzing it before packaging it to aid in decision-making by the board.

It is also important for the board to have a clear understanding of what the business is currently doing to make informed decisions on strategic issues. This will enable them to better understand the upcoming challenges and opportunities of the business. This can be achieved by implementing an internal board performance monitoring system or by conducting a post-completion review of major initiatives and projects.

It is important to ensure that, when making a strategic choice the board is aware of its own limitations. It should also be prepared to delegate certain decisions to its committees. This is particularly important for issues like conflicts of interest and community benefits, CEO evaluation, and executive compensation.

The board should be prepared to stand in a state of uncertainty. This will allow the board’s collective wisdom, expertise, and skills to be utilized while remaining attentive and patient rather than reacting. This can be achieved in many ways, such as asking management to create an image or mental model of the decision, or creating an “red team/blue-team” process that involves experts from different perspectives, or taking the time to discuss a complex issue.