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Week 1 From Governing Board Oversight to Strategic Vision Series

Oversight to Vision 1

By Rick Aman
on

Why Boards Must Shift from Oversight to Strategic Vision

The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence, it is to act with yesterday’s logic.  – Peter Drucker

I'm launching a new series on governing boards and how leadership is evolving in today’s uncertain environment. Over the years, I’ve worked alongside board members who generously gave their time and insight to keep their institutions strong. Monitoring performance, especially fiduciary and compliance, is still essential. It protects the mission, ensures accountability, and upholds public trust. But in today’s climate, oversight alone is not enough.

We are no longer operating in a stable landscape where past performance reliably predicts future outcomes. The boards that will lead well in the years ahead are those that embrace a dual responsibility: to provide thoughtful oversight and to engage in astute strategic vision. I’ve come to believe that in times of disruption purposeful vision is sensible.

As a former college president and now as a consultant, I’ve watched this shift unfold firsthand. Boards that once viewed their work primarily through the lens of financial reviews, policy updates, and accreditation reports are now being asked to think differently. They are being invited into a higher level of leadership—one that anticipates change, aligns decisions with long-term purpose, and helps shape the institution’s preferred future.

The Limits of Traditional Governance

Historically, governing boards were designed to monitor stability. They focused on ensuring accountability, managing executive transitions, and keeping institutions within the boundaries of risk and policy, ensuring sustainability. That approach made sense in eras of slow-moving change. It rewarded continuity and caution. But today, that model often leaves boards reactive rather than resilient.

Much of the governance work I see still centers around metrics from the past, last quarter’s enrollment, last year’s audit, last month’s budget forecast. These are necessary reports, but they are limited in scope. They rarely help a board understand if the organization is future ready. They answer how we are doing, but not necessarily where we are going. As a result, many boards find themselves navigating with a rearview mirror.

Traditional governance tends to reinforce a posture of maintenance and not making a mistake or taking chances. It’s focused on whether the organization is staying on track, not whether the track itself still leads to a meaningful destination. In this environment, that leaves boards well-informed, but often unprepared.

Disruption Is Now a Constant

Colleges and universities are being asked to operate in a world for which they were not designed. - Arthur Levine, The Great Upheaval

The pace of disruption has permanently changed the expectations placed on boards. Artificial intelligence is altering how people work and learn. Workforce needs are shifting faster than institutions can adapt. Donor behavior is evolving. Trust in public institutions is fragile. All of this creates pressure on leadership teams, but it also creates opportunity for boards and presidents to lead with greater clarity and purpose.

Arthur Levine’s The Great Upheaval speaks directly to this moment. He describes a system in transformation, one where traditional assumptions about education, work, and identity are breaking down. Organizations that fail to adapt will not survive on legacy alone. I’ve seen this in community colleges, nonprofits, and cultural institutions alike. When boards remain anchored only in what used to work, they risk making decisions that don’t reflect today’s context. Leaders I work with now are being asked to do more with less. They’re being challenged to rethink legacy programs, reimagine student engagement, and retool entire institutions sometimes in a matter of months. And they’re doing so in an environment where the old playbook no longer applies.

Strategic vision allows boards and CEO to engage differently. It invites them to move beyond operations and into direction. Instead of asking only “Are we compliant?” or “Did we meet our goals?”, boards begin to ask, “What future are we trying to create?” and “Are we aligned with the emerging needs of our community?” This kind of thinking doesn’t replace oversight, it elevates it. It ensures that fiduciary decisions are made in the context of a larger purpose. It opens space for the board and CEO to work as partners in shaping the future, not just managing the present.

Boards as Stewards of the Preferred Future

When I work with boards, I often introduce the concept of the preferred future. This is not a strategic plan in the traditional sense. It’s a shared vision of what the institution or organization intends to become. It’s grounded in mission, but it looks forward, not backward. It is shaped by both aspiration and awareness.

Strategic visioning in the boardroom begins with questions like:

These questions lead to different kinds of conversations. They shift board meetings from reactive cycles to purposeful dialogue. They also deepen the relationship between the board and CEO. When both parties are working together toward a clearly defined future, trust grows, and leadership strengthens.

To support this work, I use a futuring model that helps boards become stewards of a forward-thinking vision. It starts with environmental scanning, looking at trends, signals, and shifts that might affect the institution’s relevance. Then we define a preferred future statement that articulates where the organization wants to be. Finally, we identify a small number of key initiatives with associated measurable outcomes that create movement toward that future. This isn’t complicated work, but it does require a shift in mindset. Boards must become comfortable navigating uncertainty. They must balance long-term direction with short-term accountability. And they must see their role not just as evaluators of what has happened, but as guides for what could happen next.

Every board I’ve worked with has the capacity to make this shift. It doesn’t require new bylaws or special training. It requires the willingness to lead with purpose, to ask better questions, and to see governance as both a protective and generative function.

As I reflect on the most effective boards I’ve encountered, they all had one thing in common. They were not just looking for the next report. They were listening for the next opportunity. They understood that their job wasn’t simply to keep the institution safe, free of lawsuits, and compliant with policies, it was to help it grow, adapt, and matter. At the core, is the institution acting in a way that will assure sustainability through meeting the expectations of constituents and the region

In Summary  

Oversight remains a vital responsibility. Boards must ensure accountability, integrity, and transparency. But in today’s environment, that is necessary but not sufficient. Boards must also help shape vision, anticipate disruption, and guide strategic direction. The world has changed, and governance must change with it. Strategic vision is now a central function of effective boards. It enables institutions to stay aligned with their mission, respond to disruption, and lead with clarity in uncertain times. Boards that embrace this expanded role become partners in shaping the future, not just stewards of the past.

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” - Max De Pree

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If your board is ready to move beyond routine oversight and into purpose-driven strategy, let’s talk. At Aman and Associates, we design and facilitate board retreats that help clarify identity, sharpen vision, and align leadership around a preferred future. Using an Ikigai-based approach and strategic futuring tools, we guide boards through the conversations that matter most. If you're looking to strengthen your board’s focus, direction, and impact, I’m ready to help.

Rick Aman, PhD - Aman and Associates

rick@rickaman.com  | rickaman.com/articles