FT BOARD DIRECTOR PROGRAMME NEWSLETTER
January 2026 Edition - Written by Lottie O’Conor
‘A board’s contribution to a business can largely be measured in the quality of the decisions it takes’
What are the biggest barriers to faster, better decision-making? The latest Board Value Index takes in findings from 233 company directors in the US, UK, and Canada and aims to ‘reveal where they believe their boards add value and explore what they perceive to be the greatest barriers to board effectiveness.’
What is most interesting about this report is that many of the most significant barriers cited by respondents are issues that should, on paper, be easy to fix; issues such as poor time management in meetings, insufficient information supplied to board members and rigid or inconsistent processes.
One of the respondents is quoted saying that ‘in many public company boards, directors are
appointed for prestige and just don’t have the time to get into the detail that’s needed to add real value.’
This is perhaps the single most important takeaway from this, and indeed many other reports into board processes: a board made up of individuals hired on reputation alone is rarely an effective one. Every board must function as an entity in itself; a machine that runs smoothly and efficiently, not as a place where too many voices and egos clash and hinder, rather than help with faster, better decision-making.
Board members shouldn’t be the face of the company or a prestige hire. Arguably, the best boards are those that work under the radar, bringing a perfectly balancing combination of skills, experience and industry expertise to guide, support and - where appropriate - challenge those sitting in the C-suite.