What Management Really Thinks about the Board (and What to Do About It)

Our latest article, published in Directors & Boards, found five common stresses in the board-management relationship that, if left unaddressed, can lead to big problems down the road.

Based on a survey of more than 500 C-Suite executives by PwC and The Conference Board, the article suggests that it may be time to open your board’s annual self-evaluation process for more input from management. While the CEO has traditionally offered their personal perspective on how the board is performing, it may be helpful to invite the CEO – and perhaps other members of management – to offer their views on a few specific stress areas. They include:

Improving the board’s expertise and fluency in key areas. While executives gave boards high marks for their general grasp of the company’s business, slightly under half of executives ranked director expertise as good or exc