How Board And C-Suite Collaboration Can Build Resilience

A global survey by Deloitte shows that boards and C-suite execs are working together to navigate uncertain business environments and to keep growth on the agenda.

Businesses across the world are having to find ways to navigate increasingly volatile environments. 

Survey respondents say that in the short term they are most focused on economic volatility, cybersecurity and rapid technological advancements and digital disruption.

Fortune 500 organisations have added new C-suite roles to ensure that leadership has the capabilities to take on and rise above the challenges that they face, a Deloitte previously reported.

The report shows that the number of Chief Finance Officers and Chief Operations Officers increased by 19% between 2018 and 2023.

However, Deloitte finds that developing talent and expanding the C-suite is only half the job. 

Based on results from nearly 750 board members and C-suite execs who have shared their leadership experiences, it reveals a growing focus on resilience and strengthening of the relationship between boards and C-suites.

The overarching findings

In June 2025, the ‘Deloitte Global Boardroom Program’ and the ‘Deloitte Global CEO Program’ teamed up to explore how boards and C-suites are rethinking the ways they can work together to create a stronger organisation. The main findings show:

• 71% of all respondents said strategic risk oversight and scenario planning are where board oversight can help boost resilience the most
• 73% of respondents say boards have stepped up involvement and activity levels - focusing on developing strategies
• 66% said that open, transparent communication between boards and C-suites is the main leadership factor impacting resilience in their organisations

Leadership risk, strategy and scenario planning

Deloitte finds that boards are actively focusing on building resilience around risk management and scenario planning.

Of all respondents, 86% say their boards have increased activity to monitor these risks and oversea growth strategies - with 39% saying they’ve significantly increased their efforts.

Respondents ranked aligning CEO performance metrics with resilience goals as a much lower priority, which Deloitte says could indicate that board agendas are so busy, making it difficult to spend enough time on each area of growth resilience. 

However, almost three quarters of respondents say they’ve spent more time on strategy development and scenario planning this year, showing progress in their boards’ efforts to collaborate more with the C-suite in these areas.

This reflects the growing importance to build open, transparent communication between the board and the CEO.

Describing the importance of this relationship, Scott Beaumont, former President of Google Asia Pacific, says: “Within the enterprise, the CEO ultimately is alone. It's very important for the CEO to have a group of people that they can connect with for different problems.

“Some to give you a dose of resilience, some to boost confidence, some to provide reassurance or a nudge towards the right path - the board chair is perfectly positioned for this role.” 

Chairs of boards and lead directors play a key role in helping boost engagement and board effectiveness around resilience - actively encouraging and listening to board members’ views on topics for board discussion before finalising agendas.

Joe Hurd, Independent Director of Trust Pilot Group Plc, Hays Plc, and Lloyd’s of London Ltd, says: “In all three of my companies, the chair plays a more active role, being the traffic cop and being the buffer between board and management.”

Sheila Murray, Independent Chair of Teck Resources Limited, Independent Director of BCE Inc. and Independent Trustee of Granite REIT, says that chairs are central to building these collaborative relationships: “The job of the board chair is to try and encourage healthy discussion, healthy relationships, and to ensure that the relationships between management and the board are robust, the level of communication is good.”

Fostering alignment 

To help business boards and C-suites build these more collaborative and productive working relationships, Deloitte outlined the following focus areas:

• Boards should regularly evaluate their composition to ensure the board is up for the task, including exploring upskilling and assessing its sufficiently
• Boards and C-suites should reflect on their dynamics and question whether the current relationship enables the right level of support and challenge
• Chairs and CEOs can collaborate on agenda setting to be more intentional about planning board meetings in advance
• Execs should feel the board has their back so they can have transparent conversations 
• The board’s Chair has the responsibility of ensuring board members have the time, space and input needed to enable the deeper engagement that is needed today

By creating structure to evolve board and C-suite collaboration, execs can end up in a better position to respond and become more resilient against uncertainty.