Strategic Questions Every Board Should Ask About the Future
Oversight to Vision - 2
By Rick Aman on“If you don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance even less.”
— General Eric Shinseki
What is changing in our environment that we’re not addressing?
In my work with governing boards and CEOs, I often begin our conversations with a single prompt: What is changing around you that you are not addressing? It is a powerful question because it requires board members to shift their attention from internal reports to the broader environment. And that environment is shifting quickly. Higher education is not immune to disruption, and boards must be vigilant about recognizing what is evolving outside their boardrooms.
Across the country, institutions are confronting a series of converging challenges and opportunities. These are not passing fads. They represent deep, structural shifts that will define how colleges and universities must operate in the years ahead.
First, demographic decline is already here. In many regions, particularly the Midwest and Northeast, the number of traditional college-aged students is shrinking. This means that the competition for students is intensifying, and institutions that rely solely on 18-year-olds coming straight from high school will be at risk. Trustees need to understand this demographic cliff and begin considering new populations such as adult learners, part-time students, and dual-enrolled high school students.
Second, we are seeing a shift toward skills-based learning. Employers are increasingly hiring for skills rather than credentials. Certificates, microcredentials, and industry-recognized certifications are becoming more relevant, and boards must ask whether their institutions are truly preparing students for the workforce of today and tomorrow. Are we embedding relevant credentials into our programs? Are we listening to employer needs in our region? Are we agile enough to revise curricula when skills needs change?
Third, technology and artificial intelligence are reshaping the delivery of education and the operations of institutions. From predictive analytics in student support to AI-enhanced instruction, these tools offer new possibilities for efficiency and personalization. At the same time, they raise important questions about ethics, privacy, and the human role in learning. Boards and CEOs often defer this conversation. It belongs at the strategic level.
Fourth, financial pressure continues to build. Tuition sensitivity, inflation, public funding constraints, and rising costs are forcing institutions to reconsider their financial models. Effective leadership teams explore alternative revenue streams, new partnerships, and mission-aligned entrepreneurship. Simply raising tuition is not a sustainable solution. Fiscal creativity and strategic investments are essential.
Fifth, public trust in higher education is being tested. Questions of value, transparency, and accountability come from lawmakers, parents, and students alike. Accreditation bodies are putting greater emphasis on board performance and mission fulfillment. Boards should revisit how they communicate their role, how they measure institutional success, and how they maintain trust with the communities they serve.
These five trends are not exhaustive, but they are urgent. The key is that most of these shifts do not show up in financial dashboards or compliance reports. They are found in the larger landscape of change. They are found in the needs of employers, in the voice of the next generation, and in the questions no one has yet asked. Futuring begins not with certainty, but with awareness. Boards that are willing to reflect on what they may be missing will be far better positioned to adapt and lead.
Are we future-ready or future-resistant?
This question speaks to posture and mindset. I have worked with trustees who carry deep commitment to their institutions but find themselves holding tightly to tradition. That instinct often comes from a good place, a desire to protect what has worked. But being a good steward of legacy is not the same as resisting change. It is about evolving with purpose. A future-ready board is curious, adaptive, and open to new ways of fulfilling the organization’s core values. It asks questions like, What are we assuming that might no longer be true? Where are the opportunities that did not exist five years ago? How are we building a culture that invites innovation rather than punishes risk?
Future-resistant boards often default to control and continuity. They lean heavily on past success and proven methods. They may be well-intentioned, but they can inadvertently create a culture of delay. In times of disruption, delay can be dangerous. It is not about being reckless, it is about being responsive. The role of the board is not to predict the future. It is to prepare for it. That begins with honest reflection about the board’s own readiness to adapt.
How do we align mission with disruption?
Disruption is neither good nor bad. It is a condition of change. The question is how boards respond to it. Some treat disruption as a threat and retreat to familiar ground. Others see it as a prompt to realign, refocus, and reimagine.
Mission clarity allows an institution to navigate change with integrity. The mission statement is the anchor, but an anchor is not meant to trap us in place. It holds us steady as we adjust our sails.
In my work with boards, I have found that the best conversations about strategy begin with the question, Does this initiative strengthen our ability to live out our mission in a changing world? For example, one board had long resisted online learning, believing it diluted academic quality. But when they reframed it as a way to fulfill their mission of access and affordability, they began investing in it. Disruption became a catalyst for mission, not a compromise of it. Boards that lead well in times of change are not rigid; they are rooted. They use their core values as a lens through which to interpret disruption, rather than a wall to block it.
What are we doing today to shape tomorrow?
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
— Dwight D. Eisenhower
This final question centers the board’s attention on its ultimate responsibility. Governance is not just about fiduciary oversight. It is about generative leadership. It is about imagining and building the future. Governing boards often spend the majority of their time reacting to reports, reviewing performance, and ensuring compliance. That work matters, but it is not enough. The institutions that thrive are those where boards make time for foresight, not just oversight.
I encourage boards to carve out space in their meetings to talk about the long term. What does our preferred future look like three years from now? What key initiatives are we pursuing that will still matter a decade from today? How are we equipping the next generation of leaders to carry the mission forward?
Boards should consider adopting a simple yet powerful habit: concluding discussions by asking - Does this move us toward the future we want to create? This kind of reflective question can serve as a north star, aligning decisions with long-term vision rather than short-term convenience. When boards consistently bring the future into the present conversation, it shifts how the organization thinks about priorities, budgeting becomes strategic, hiring becomes mission-aligned, and day-to-day decisions become intentional steps toward a preferred future.
Summary
Boards and CEOs shape organizational culture not just through policies or oversight, but through what they choose to emphasize and elevate. When a board places its focus on strategic direction, consistently, clearly, and visibly it signals to the entire organization that tomorrow matters and is within reach. Over time, this cultivates a shared belief that the organization has a future worth building, and that every decision contributes to that unfolding story.
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If your board is asking how to stay relevant, responsive, and resilient in a time of disruption, I’d welcome a conversation. At Aman and Associates, we specialize in designing and facilitating board retreats that move leaders beyond the agenda and into meaningful dialogue about the future. Using strategic futuring methods and an Ikigai-based framework, we help boards confront emerging trends, assess future-readiness, and align mission with strategy. Our sessions are built to spark the right questions—about identity, disruption, innovation, and long-term impact. If your board is ready to shape tomorrow with clarity and courage, I’m ready to help.
Rick Aman, PhD
Aman and Associates
rick@rickaman.com | rickaman.com/articles
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