Board AI readiness radar

• Do you have change management experience and appropriate technical skills on your board?
• Is the board confident engaging critically on AI matters (e.g. asking questions, challenging assumptions)?
• Has your board’s understanding of these issues improved in the last board cycle (e.g. due to training, reading, discussion), and is there a plan in place to keep this up to date?

• Does the chair proactively set the tone on AI (e.g. by initiating conversations before major developments occur, raising risks and opportunities before they escalate)?
• Is the board chair helping the board engage with external perspectives and emerging thinking (e.g. inviting external speakers)?
• Are priorities around AI clear and reflected in how the board is led?

• Has your board taken part in any AI-related training in the past 2 months?
• Do board members have access to regular and ongoing development opportunities on AI (e.g. reading, briefings, external experts)?
• Is there visible curiosity and willingness to learn from all members?

• Are meeting agendas and decision-making frameworks dynamic and forward-looking enough to respond to fast-moving AI developments?
• Do meeting cycles and processes allow for timely reflection and retrospectives?
• Is the pace of decision-making aligned to the demands of technology change (e.g. mechanisms for decision-making outside of formal meeting cycles if required; clear lines of delegation, reporting and accountability across decision-making forums)?

• Are your organisation's risk frameworks fit for purpose in an AI context?
• Has your organisation’s risk appetite evolved in light of AI-driven opportunities and threats?
• Are you updating the risks you monitor frequently enough to stay relevant?

• Are responsibilities for AI oversight clearly assigned across committees and the board?
• Is AI included within board priorities and meeting agendas?
• Is there alignment between board processes and what’s required to supervise AI well?

• Are board materials providing both depth and breadth of insight on AI issues?
• When making decisions on issues not explicitly about AI, is the potential impact of AI still considered?
• Are all functions and business lines providing information to the board on AI-related issues (e.g. HR, marketing, sales)?

• Have you updated your internal metrics and dashboards to reflect how AI is changing your organisation?
• Are you reporting on AI in a way that deepens board understanding (e.g. metrics are provided with appropriate context and connected to organisational priorities and outcomes?)
• Are the metrics aligned with your forward-looking strategy, rather than legacy ways of working?

• Does the board regularly receive updates on competitor, regulator, and market shifts related to AI?
• Is your view of external developments based primarily on data and research, rather than anecdote and hearsay?
• Are you bringing in outside insight to inform decisions?

• Does the board use AI and other technologies to enhance its effectiveness and ways of working?
• Are new tools and methods actively identified and trialled by directors themselves?
• Is there openness among board members to learning from experimentation?

• Do board reviews provide actionable insight on the board's ability to foster AI-led innovation?
• Does the board proactively assess and measure the organisation's culture?
• Do executive incentives and performance assessments encourage learning, adaptation, rapid experimentation, and learning from failure?

• Are there clear guardrails that give teams the confidence to test and learn?
• Has the board adapted its oversight structures to support innovation, not just control risk?
• Are roles and accountabilities for AI experimentation well understood and appropriately delegated?

• Is there a shared understanding of your organisation's business model, customer problem, and frontline operations?
• What are the organisation's sources of competitive advantage and how does or will AI create opportunity or risk?
• Is the board engaged with how AI could reshape the organisation’s long-term strategy and operations?

• Has the board defined what success looks like and agreed a path to get there?
• Are board decisions focused on the long-term direction, not just short-term demands?
• Is the board clear on how its own role will need to evolve as the organisation changes?

• Would staff say the board is giving clear direction and supporting meaningful change?
• Do people see board decisions as helping the organisation move forward with AI, rather than holding it back?
• Is there visible evidence that the board listens, reflects, and adjusts when needed?

Your results