Board Leadership Accelerator

Thanks to The Marcus Foundation, participation in the Board Leadership Accelerator, as well as its program components and surveys, will come at no cost to your organization.

The Board Experience Survey is the foundation of the Board Leadership Accelerator. Participating organizations complete the survey at the beginning and again at the end of the program. The results provide insights into Board culture and functioning, and those insights drive a customized Board Development Plan that guides the work over the two years.

Participating organizations commit to a full two-year engagement that includes assessments and an action plan. Specifically, they will:

• Have their Board participate in the Board Experience Survey in 2026 and again in 2028.
• Ensure their CEO and staff participate in the Employee Experience Survey and CEO Survey in 2026.
• Form a Board Leadership Accelerator Task Force — including the CEO, Board Chair, senior staff, and at least one other Board member — to coordinate the organization’s program participation.
• Engage fully in post-survey consultations and up to 10 hours of coaching support, putting the Board Development Plan into action.
• Commit staff and Board members to participate in relevant workshops, coaching, and other programmatic interventions tailored to their data. Organizations will be assigned a coach experienced in governance and culture by the program team.
• Participate in Leading Edge’s program evaluation process. 

• A Board survey tool with a familiar user experience to Leading Edge’s suite of surveys.
• Access to your organization’s data via Culture Amp, the survey platform (Note: data will only be available if 75%, or more, of Board members complete the survey. The results will only be shared with the organization’s Board Leadership Accelerator Task Force.) 
• Up to ten (10) hours of consultation and coaching support to interpret your data and begin working through your unique opportunities and challenges. Organizations will be assigned a coach experienced in governance and culture by the program team. 
• A tailored Board Development Plan: a comprehensive action plan based on the key insights from the survey, including coaching, workshops, and other learning opportunities.
• Access to a suite of exclusive programs and learning opportunities for Board and staff members, in addition to Leading Edge’s open programs.
• Templates and talking points to share with your Board throughout the survey process.

Each organization must designate a Board Leadership Accelerator Task Force to ensure smooth coordination of the survey and subsequent program participation. The task force consists of 4-5 people, including: 

• the CEO/ED;
• the Board Chair;
• the incoming Board Chair (if identified), otherwise one additional Board member, e.g. co-Board Chair, Vice Chair, Governance Chair, etc; 
• a senior staff member, e.g. a member of your executive team (CDO/CPO) or a Board liaison; and 
• an optional additional staff member, e.g. Chief of Staff, executive assistant to serve as Task Force Lead.

The Task Force Lead is the primary point of contact for logistics and coordination. This function can be fulfilled by either the CEO, senior staff member, or a third optional additional staff member.

Organizations can expect meaningful shifts in how their Boards operate, collaborate, and plan for the future. By the end of the program, Boards can expect to see stronger Board-professional relationships, greater clarity around roles and responsibilities, and more effective Board operations and culture. Organizations will also have a CEO succession plan in place as part of their long-term governance practices. Organizations that actively engage in the full arc of the program can expect to see a bigger impact.

Research shows that regular Board assessment is a critical lever of stronger performance, better Board member experience, and long-term Board growth. Organizations that assess their Boards at least every two years consistently rate higher across key performance markers. 

The Board Leadership Accelerator starts with the Board Experience Survey — but it doesn’t stop there. It’s a two-year investment in building a more effective, engaged, and future-ready Board. Organizations gain data-driven insights into their Board’s strengths and challenges, then work with experts to turn those insights into meaningful action through tailored coaching, workshops, and targeted interventions.

The Board Leadership Accelerator’s focus on Board culture helps clarify roles, deepen accountability, and strengthen the Board-professional partnership. It also supports long-term priorities like CEO succession and Board development. By combining rigorous assessment with hands-on support, the Board Leadership Accelerator equips organizations with the structure, tools, and momentum to lead more effectively.

Organizations who participate in the Board Leadership Accelerator must take part in an Employee Experience Survey and CEO Survey. The results of these surveys will complement one another and provide your organization’s leadership with a more holistic perspective of its culture, opportunities, and challenges.

Leading Edge guarantees the confidentiality of all organizations and Board members. Nobody outside your organization will see your data, and your organization’s leaders will not have access to individual responses or know who has completed the survey. Leading Edge and our survey platform, Culture Amp, will protect this information through a set of safeguards and security protocols. The results will be reported to designated organizational leaders as part of the organization's overall data. Though data will be connected to specific respondent types (i.e., your CEO or other executive leader of any title and your Board Chair), their responses will not be visible individually. Any data that we share with the public (such as in reports like this one) will only be in the aggregate across many organizations and will adhere to strict confidentiality thresholds.

You can reach out to our team at boards@leadingedge.org. We’re happy to help!