Last week my blog was about the need to tap into board experience. Today I write about how boards need to be asked the right questions to provide their experience, to lead. Executive teams should ask their boards quite explicitly:

• About Risk – What risks do they see with the strategy? What emerging risks to the organisation do they see from their experience outside of the boardroom.

• About Opportunity – What opportunities do they see to improve the strategy? What opportunities do they see that the strategy is not grabbing?

A board that understands the balancing act between risk and opportunity and are asked these questions is one that can provide outstanding stewardship to an organisation. Stewardship that will guarantee the organisation operates in the top quartile in its industry for a very long time to come.