Operationalize Trust

The second key step in the 2025 Blue Ribbon Commission Report on Building a High-Trust Board-CEO Relationship is Operationalize Trust, with recommendations on how the board and CEO can embed trust-building activities into formal board processes and ongoing interactions.

Sustaining a high-functioning board-CEO relationship requires that routine governance processes and ongoing interactions intentionally reinforce the established trust foundation. As one CEO remarked, “Saying ‘trust me’ is never a good way to build a relationship with your board.” The board and CEO can embed these trust-building activities into communications, evaluations, executive sessions, and personal support.

Recommendation 4: Commit to ongoing communications to sustain trust beyond formal meetings.

A Commissioner noted, “The work of the CEO-board relationship primarily happens outside the boardroom.”  Consistent, purposeful communication builds relational depth and keeps the CEO and directors informed throughout the year.

ACTIONS FOR THE BOARD

Formalize board-CEO communication between meetings. 

The board leader acts as the primary facilitator of engagement, ensuring that the CEO and directors have opportunities to connect and exchange timely, critical information. Together, the board leader and CEO should determine the appropriate communications cadence, formats, and protocols without placing an undue burden on management. 

The Commission shared practices based on their board and CEO experiences to enhance ongoing communication.  

• Plan holistically across the board calendar. Consider how board-management interactions are structured over the entire year (including outside, around, and in between formal meetings) and organize them to support expected key decisions. 
• Implement a protocol for board information requests. Some boards use the board leader as the “gatekeeper” to minimize the burden on management time and resources, while ensuring the board’s information needs are met.