NEDs in training: why board readiness matters more than ever

On 14 January, the first Board Intelligence Chair Summit brought 200 leaders together to explore the shifting landscape of board effectiveness. During a panel discussion about the board's role in times of crisis and transformation, one moment stood out.

A seasoned chair captured the essence — and the core challenge — of the non-executive director's role: NEDs are in training for the moment they are needed.

Most of the time, the work of the board is conducted behind closed doors. When crisis hits, strategy pivots, or leadership fails, the board suddenly becomes centre stage. And in that moment, the quality of its preparation is exposed.

This insight resonates with the core message of the IoD Commission's new report, "NEDs Reimagined: A Post-Higgs Review of the Role and Contribution of Non-Executive Directors." The findings — the result of nearly a year's research by the IoD's 2025 Commission — are clear: boards must evolve from periodic oversight to active stewardship to ensure they can deliver what's expected, when it's needed.

What's changed since Higgs?

On 14 January, the first Board Intelligence Chair Summit brought 200 leaders together to explore the shifting landscape of board effectiveness. During a panel discussion about the board's role in times of crisis and transformation, one moment stood out.

A seasoned chair captured the essence — and the core challenge — of the non-executive director's role: NEDs are in training for the moment they are needed.

Most of the time, the work of the board is conducted behind closed doors. When crisis hits, strategy pivots, or leadership fails, the board suddenly becomes centre stage. And in that moment, the quality of its preparation is exposed.

This insight resonates with the core message of the IoD Commission's new report, NEDs Reimagined: A Post-Higgs Review of the Role and Contribution of Non-Executive Directors. The findings — the result of nearly a year's research by the IoD's 2025 Commission — are clear: boards must evolve from periodic oversight to active stewardship to ensure they can deliver what's expected, when it's needed.

What needs to change to help NEDs add more value?

The IoD report identifies 12 key findings and recommendations. Four stand out.

1. Reframe independence. Formal independence criteria manage conflicts of interest, but intellectual independence matters just as much. The best NEDs demonstrate curiosity, active engagement, and cognitive diversity. Boards should appoint NEDs who bring genuine intellectual independence, even if they don't tick every formal box.
2. Be less conservative in recruitment. Board appointments are often drawn from the same narrow pool: former executives, multiple board seat-holders, known networks. The result can be groupthink. Boards should expand their talent pipeline, seeking candidates who don't yet serve on multiple boards but who possess the necessary attributes and experience and offer fresh thinking and intellectual capacity.
3. Be more present in the business. NEDs can't understand culture, strategy, and risk from the boardroom or board papers alone. They need to be visible and accessible to the wider organisation. Presence builds trust.
4. Move from oversight to stewardship. Good governance isn't just about holding management to account. NEDs should contribute to strategy and long-term value creation. The relationship should be built on trust and reciprocity, not confrontation.

The real problem

The IoD Commission's report reveals a critical barrier to NED and board effectiveness: too many boards are stuck looking in the rear-view mirror.

Often, boards find themselves weighted towards compliance and performance monitoring, with limited time for genuine stewardship. Similarly, boards can adopt a defensive position, prioritising risk mitigation over strategic opportunity and calculated risk-taking. The conversation tends to centre on what could go wrong rather than what could go right.

The IoD member survey revealed the top obstacles to effective NEDs:

• Reticence to challenge management (48.7%)
• Poor information flows (44.7%)
• Lack of engagement with the wider organisation (40.6%)
• Insufficient curiosity (37.7%)
• Poor chairmanship (36.9%)

These aren't structural problems. They're cultural problems. They require behavioural change, not new rules.

What boards need to do now

Build the muscles before the crisis. Scenario planning, cyber simulations, and decision-making rehearsals are essential. Redefine good information. Move from backward-looking compliance reporting to forward-looking, insight-rich information that enables strategic debate. Tools like board portals and board surveys can help consolidate and surface the insights NEDs actually need.

Embrace technology. AI reshapes the NED role by enabling real-time analysis and sharper questioning. Modern board management platforms level the information asymmetry between executives and NEDs by giving them direct access to data and insights and acting as an impartial critical thinking partner.

Strengthen and support your chair. Chairs set the tone for NED effectiveness. They establish expectations, foster dialogue, provide feedback, and create space for bold challenge. Regular board evaluation and reporting helps chairs understand what's working and where to focus.

Every board will face a test — whether it's a crisis, a strategic pivot, a leadership failure, or a geopolitical shock. When it does, the board won't be evaluated on how well it managed risk. It will be judged on how well it led. On whether NEDs understood the business deeply, had thought through the options, and were ready for the moment.

Interested in learning more? On 3 February, the IoD is hosting a webinar with Pippa Begg, CEO of Board Intelligence and Megan Pantelides, senior director, to explore the report's 12 key recommendations and what your board should prioritise now.

Click here to register for the IoD webinar "NEDs Reimagined".