Upskilling The Board
Imagine the stress of being legally responsible for a company that has just begun using generative AI, but not really understanding how it’s being used, the different risks, or the requirements for good governance. After all, a technology is not normally a Board-level concern. But of course, AI is much more than a technology; it has broader implications that do concern the Board.
Making a decision about AI, without having a baseline understanding of AI’s interrelated components must be like flying a passenger plane without instruments or seeing what’s outside – totally reliant on others to tell you what is OK or not. For the same reason, it is not good to defer Board-level decisions about AI to the one Director with the most AI experience, “our AI Guy”.
Ethan Mollick, professor at Wharton, addresses this in a recent post (May 2025): “There are no GenAI leaders who have years of experience. You can't hire someone who is really good at driving AI transformation with GenAI because those people are all working on their first projects. We are all figuring it out at the same time.”
So, lack of Generative AI expertise at the Board level is an issue for all businesses. I’ll use this post to share how I work with Boards, meeting non-technical Directors where they are, and helping them be more informed and confident on issues related to their performance.
With the introduction and backing of an Executive Sponsor (Chairman, CEO, or Exec Director), I explain to the Board the goal of the project: quietly improving each Director’s basic understanding of a new issue — not fluency or even competency, and not unique to a particular project, problem and technology — just enough information for them to ask better questions.
The strategy is to provide a safe space for Directors to share and understand the main components of an issue impacting the company. Asking good questions is central to solid leadership. My role is to help each Director have a better understanding of the issues relevant to their role on the Board - the processes and pitfalls of Generative AI, for example.
It can be a 15-min talk followed by a 15-min Q&A – or a 30-min Q&A – or any variation. The point is not for me to be talking, it is to elevate the understanding of the Directors. My process is:
Secure Executive Sponsorship.
I offer a series of 30-min time slots to speak with 1-3 Directors at a time. The sponsor directs the casting of the groups, and someone knowledgeable from Management, known and trusted by the Directors, often joins as well. Each Director brings a different level of interest and experience with an issue, and the sponsor is likely to be the only one who knows those levels. The calls are not recorded, of course, and there is no reporting on anyone’s measure of proficiency – it is not a test. The point is to share and discuss the same information with each Director, in small safe groups, and to field questions that dispel unspoken uncertainty.
After all the Directors have had a chance to speak and listen, I recommend a simple course of action that builds on the knowledge the Directors have shared. For example, the development of a Center of Excellence, new Communication tools, regular Board-level briefings of AI news relevant to the business, or recommendations for more in-depth research to address issues that were raised (for the Board and/or Management), etc.
There is quite a bit of experience, business etiquette, empathy, and other soft skills involved in this “level-set” process. It can also (ideally) spark future initiatives for the Board to continually improve its awareness of new issues that newly impact the business.