Beyond the Basics: Three Advanced Practices for Exceptional Board Leadership

Good Governance Series

Feb 05, 2026

An orchestra is performing with a conductor. — Photo by Kazuo ota

You’ve probably heard the standard advice: build a strong partnership with your CEO, come prepared, run efficient meetings, manage committee work, make time for the role, and handle conflict when it arises.

All true, all important. But becoming an exceptional board chair requires going deeper. I’ve served as chair of four boards and worked with several dozen more. Here’s what I wish someone had told me about how to grow into being great.

🎯1. Learn how to actually facilitate… and I mean really facilitate

Most board chairs think running a meeting means working through an agenda. Real facilitation is a skill that requires training and practice.

Get trained → Invest in learning facilitation techniques from professionals, not just winging it based on meetings you’ve attended. Read Sam Kaner's Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making. Check out the wealth of free resources, including facilitation tips from Boardsource or this training from Standford Graduate School of Business. Better yet, ask a board chair in your network if you can shadow one of their meetings to see skilled facilitation in action. You could even take a course like Voltage Control’s Facilitation Certification or the Technology of Participation.
Design for interaction → Build agendas that aren’t just informational updates but interactive sessions where board members grapple with real questions and decisions together. Use a timer to cap informational updates at 10 minutes and protect 40+ minutes for real discussion. Get rid of generic committee updates (that could have been an email). Send a one-page briefing doc on a discussion topic five days before meetings with a clear ask: "Come prepared to share one concern about X."
Create accountability → At the end of each meeting, read back the action items and owners out loud. Send a follow-up email within 48 hours listing commitments and deadlines. At the start of the next meeting, spend two minutes reviewing what was completed. This isn't punitive… it's how you build a culture of follow-through.
Lead by example → Model the kind of engaged, thoughtful participation you want to see. Ask questions you already know the answer to when you sense others are confused but hesitant to speak up. When someone shares an idea, pause before responding and say tell me more about that instead of jumping to your own view.

📚 2. Commit to continuous governance education

The best board chairs are forever-students of governance, and appreciate that real leadership requires ongoing learning and adaptation.

Build your network → This month, message three board chairs on LinkedIn with something like: "I chair [org name]'s board. Would you be open to a 20-minute call to compare notes on [specific challenge like 'ED evaluation' or 'board recruitment']?" Ask your ED to introduce you to board chairs at peer organizations they know or you partner with. Subscribe here for free and join my subscribers chat and commit to posting one question per quarter! Peer learning is powerful learning.
Stay current → Find and follow folks writing about good governance on substack and linkedin (check out my recommendations). Subscribe to established platforms like Stanford Social Innovation Review as well as folks like like Vu Le, who are challenging sector norms. Set a monthly calendar appointment to read about governance… even 15 minutes of intentional learning compounds over time.
Share what you learn → Pass along articles, ideas, and insights with your fellow board members rather than keeping your learning to yourself. Try adding a standing five-minute "Governance Insight" slot at the start of each board meeting where you share one article or idea that made you think. Create a shared Google Drive folder for governance resources. When you read something relevant, forward it with a one-sentence note like… This made me think about how we handle X—curious your reaction. This uplifts a culture of collective growth.
Model growth → When you share an article or bring a new idea to the board, be explicit that I’m still learning about this too. This signals that governance isn’t static and that everyone (including the chair) should be growing in their role.

🤝 3. Do the behind-the-scenes work that makes everything else possible

The most important work of a board chair often happens outside the boardroom, in the one-on-one conversations and relationship-building that create the foundation for effective governance.

Prep the ground → Bring people along before meetings, especially when you’re introducing new ideas or approaching sensitive topics, so nothing feels like an ambush. Before any meeting with a significant decision, schedule 15-minute calls with two or three board members to hear their initial reactions and concerns… especially folks who tend to be more quiet or are new. For sensitive topics, send a brief ‘heads up’ email to the full board 48 hours in advance. Something like: I want to flag that we'll be discussing X on Thursday. Happy to chat beforehand if you have questions or concerns. Nothing should feel like an ambush. No vote should be a surprise.
Onboard with intention → Orient new members thoroughly with genuine conversation about culture, expectations, and how they can contribute, not just a binder and a handshake. For every new board member, there are 3 one-on-one conversations they should have in their first 3 months: one with you, one with the ED, and one with a tenured board member who can share unwritten norms. Create a ‘First 90 Days’ checklist that includes attending a program site visit or volunteering, social activities, and other ‘get to know the org’ type things. At day 60, ask them directly: ‘what is still unclear about how we work together?’. Constantly be looking for ways to improve this process, as its the cornerstone of great governing teams.
Socialize ideas early and personally → Before bringing a complex proposal to the full board… float it one-on-one with key members. A quick call or coffee gives people time to process, ask questions privately, and surface concerns you might not have anticipated. By the time you're in the boardroom, you'll know where the friction points are.
Proactively Connect people → Facilitate personal connections between board members so they build relationships beyond formal meetings. Try using ‘board buddies’ and pair new members with veterans who can answer the how do things really work here questions. Host one social gathering per year with no agenda except to get to know each other better. When running break-outs in board meetings, try to pair people up who don’t usually interact. The trust and social capital you build makes it possible to navigate difficult decisions together.

A final note

The best boards I’ve seen have one thing in common: a chair who never stopped growing. That growth comes from intentional practice, continuous learning, and investing in relationships.

My challenge to you: pick one action from this list and start building today.