Rarely is the boardroom left wanting for agenda items. At the cusp of a new financial year, companies keen to keep apace with a shifting landscape will look to the oversight of a well-composed board to help navigate the risks and opportunities that make up the current operating environment, fast-moving as it is.

Overall governance is in focus across the frontiers of geopolitical, demographic, technological, climate and economic issues, and when the agenda is so all-encompassing, continued corporate success and resilience requires an independent board reflective of contemporary society.

One that captures the diversity of thought, skills and opinions of our modern world. A board that is future-fit, comprising a dynamic makeup of personality, experience and perspective, all poised for progress. Through the strategic appointments of non-executive directors (NEDs), the ideal board can become the dynamic advisors that the current world demands.

At a fundamental level, the roles of the board and NEDs are expanding greatly. No longer seen as static stalwarts of a company legacy, their members must now act as strategic leaders in their own right, combining expertise and insights to empower CEOs and senior management teams to accelerate change in such evolving fields as sustainability and artificial intelligence, to name but two.

They are, in effect, a corporate compass, shepherding companies towards a position of strength. Yet the days of boards being judged solely on the pursuit of profit have long since passed.  

Now that the principles of environmental and societal impact have become standing agenda items, the boardroom should be open and inclusive when welcoming members and NEDs to the table. To review its own effectiveness in an act of introspection.

From the outside looking in, there is the stubborn perception that the board itself is something of a closed shop, with meetings taking place at a table surrounded by men in suits. An exaggeration, perhaps, but for middle executives and would-be non-executive directors, a seat on the board can be a distant proposition only considered upon retirement. The reality is that their practical real-world experiences can provide value here and now, and ultimately sharpen a board’s readiness to oversee emerging risks brought about by disruptive AI or cybersecurity, the very same issues that will most affect younger staff both now and into the future. For they will be the ones managing a company’s levers of leadership in five, ten and 20 years’ time, when the blind spots and oversights of today will truly manifest and leave companies playing catch-up.

In an era defined by change, keeping pace is simply not enough. The role of the board is to be innovators, rather than the gatekeepers of old. To be proactive, responsive and forward-looking in creating a board culture committed to continuous improvement. To welcome NEDs and new thinkers into the room who bring with them lived experience of the issues and technologies that will no doubt impact companies both now and into tomorrow. In my own experience, the alignment of the CEO and senior management team with the NEDs is critical to the rhythm of a functioning, future-fit board.

For a board to be truly agile and accountable, it must embrace modern communications as a vehicle towards greater inclusivity. Nowadays video technology is such that the board seat is much more flexible to a wider pool of people. It is no longer tied to any one location, with remote access options ensuring a place at the table is more accessible than ever to the NEDs poised and ready to bring debate and clarity that is both independent and constructive.    

A board’s wisdom and objective oversight will always be key, however that same knowledge pool is only as good as its members – non-executive and otherwise – who themselves must be well-informed on the issues of the day.

Keeping a finger on the pulse of business is one thing, but the onus is on board chairs to take stock of the many perspectives and insights both within a company’s walls and beyond them. To adapt their agendas accordingly and welcome fresh insight and NEDs to the table, so that when challenges inevitably do rise, CEOs can be assured in a strategy shaped by the best people, regardless of age or background.

No company succeeds in a vacuum. A future-ready and inclusive board has the power to sharpen a company’s competitive edge. Short is the shelf life of strategies that double down on stability. Especially now when change is the one guaranteed constant in a world that moves at such a fast clip.

After all, the best boardrooms don’t just react to the future – they help shape it.