The best boards are redesigning how information reaches them
Directors increasingly ask to hear from the two levels below the executive committee — directly.
Leadership DeskPublished yesterday
A board that only hears from the chief executive is, functionally, a board that hears one interpretation of reality on a monthly cadence.
The correction now spreading through well-run companies is structured exposure: rotating business-unit presentations, unaccompanied site visits, and standing access to the internal audit and risk functions.
Done badly this undermines the executive. Done well — with clear protocol on what directors do and do not act on — it materially shortens the distance between an emerging problem and the people accountable for it.
Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the Leaders & Impact editorial desk. Sourcing and factual assertion remain human-owned.