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What the book does
High Performance Boards sets out a four-pillar framework for assessing and improving governance: People, Information Architecture, Structures and Processes, and Group Dynamics and Governance Culture. Written for board directors, chairs and governance practitioners, it combines a recurring fictional director’s boardroom dilemmas with cases of failure, guidance on risk and crisis, plus boardroom prompts and best practice summaries.
What it changes in practice
Before a meeting, a director can test the board pack against the four pillars: whether the right people are engaged, whether information includes external and independent views, whether the process supports the decision, and whether group dynamics permit challenge. During agenda setting, the framework helps separate a structural fix from a behavioural one. Afterwards, its diagnostic questions can turn an impression such as ‘the discussion felt weak’ into specific questions for the chair, secretary, or board evaluation.
Why I recommend it
The four-pillar framework gives a clear language for understanding why board performance may fall short, supported by diagnostic tools, prompts, and boardroom examples. It provides particularly relevant applications for cyber risk, stakeholder management, geopolitics and culture. Its breadth is also a limitation, as examples across sectors cannot define good governance for every organisation.
Reading High Performance Boards as the core textbook for my board governance certification reinforced for me that becoming an effective NED requires more than transferring executive experience into the boardroom. Most importantly, strong individual directors do not automatically create a high-performing board: dynamics, judgement and collective decision-making are critical.
Who it suits
Useful for aspiring and experienced NEDs, trustees, chairs, and governance advisors seeking a structured way to improve board effectiveness. Use as a reference rather than a cover-to-cover read. Many of the recommendations need to be adapted for smaller boards or non-profits.
Recommended by
Peggy Curley, NEDness Co-founder and Chief Communications Officer