Manage your board with confidence

Surfboard’s board management course is the only program designed to help you master board management. Going far beyond governance, this course will teach you powerful strategies to transform the way you work with your board—from building strong relationships and increasing engagement, to running better meetings and reducing prep time.

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What's inside

This course is absolutely jam-packed with information on how to work with your board. Each lesson combines best practices with practical strategies designed to help you unlock value and make your day-to-day work easier.

Board Foundations

• Building trust
• Board collaboration
• Communication strategies
• Board updates

Onboarding

• Onboarding best practices
• Setting expectations
• Defining roles and responsibilities
• Creating a healthy board culture

Meeting Prep

• The goal of board meetings
• Efficient meeting prep

Board Meetings

• Facilitating conversation
• Leading strategic conversations
• Redirecting unproductive conversations

Meeting Follow-Up

• Why meeting follow-up matters
• Follow-up best practices
• Developing a process that works for you

Issues & Evaluations

• Addressing bad morale and culture problems
• Dealing with low engagement
• Navigating conflict between board members
• Removing a board member
• Board evaluations

How it works

We developed the board course after years of working on both sides of board management—serving as board members and advising clients big and small across dozens of industries. It covers the entire lifecycle of board management, helping you unlock value from your board every step of the way.

1 - Access

• Get access to every lesson in Notion from day one. No waiting around for your next lessons to be released.

2 - Start

• Go through the course, in order, from start to finish. Or jump around to the topics most relevant to you right now.

3 - Learn

• Read the content and do the homework, applying what you learn hands-on at your company.

4 - Discuss

• Share your thoughts, ideas, and questions in the Surfboard Slack community.

5 - Apply

• Take what you learn back to your team to improve internal processes and increase efficiency.

6 - Repeat

• Your subscription gives you unlimited access, so you can revisit topics anytime as you encounter new challenges.

Is the board management course right for me?

This course is designed for anyone who wants to improve the way they work with their board, whether you’re new to board management or want to take your skills to the next level.

Founders and CEOs

• You’re successfully navigating the ins and outs of running a company, but aren’t sure how to get more value from your board. This will help you run your board more efficiently and unlock resources and opportunities in the process.

Nonprofit leaders

• You’re working hard to advance your organization’s mission and want to understand how your board can help you meet your goals more effectively. This will give you a roadmap to unlocking those opportunities.

Chiefs of staff

• You’re in the trenches of board management and looking for ways to get things running more efficiently. This will equip you with hands-on strategies to eliminate time-consuming work, reduce stress, and deliver better results.

CLOs and GCs

• You understand the importance of good governance and want to make sure your board is following best practices. This course will help you develop processes and procedures with governance and compliance at their core.

CFOs and COOs

• You’ve been managing your company’s governance processes and working hard to keep everything compliant. This will show how to build a board management system with good governance at its foundation.

Executive assistants

• You live and breathe process, but find yourself juggling board communications in lots of different places. This will help you streamline communications and establish a reliable, unified system for working with your board.

Unlock your first lesson free

On the fence? Your first lesson is on us. Just drop your email below and we’ll send it straight to your inbox.

FAQs

Is there a way to talk to someone if I get stuck?

As a member of our board management course, you’ll have access to the exclusive Slack channel where you can reach out for answers, feedback, and support whenever you need it. Our team of board experts is always available to help!

How is this different from other courses on the market?

Surfboard’s program is the only board course designed to help you master the entire lifecycle of board management. While other courses focus primarily on governance, this course will help you unlock strategies that will fundamentally change the way you work with your board at every step. So you can lead your company—and your board—with confidence.

How much time does the course take per week?

If you follow our recommended schedule, you can complete the course in 6 weeks with only 2-3 hours of work per week. But the course is entirely self-paced so you can go through it as fast or slow as you want.

Do I have to use Surfboard’s app to participate in the course?

Only if you want to! The lessons in the course will help you improve your practices, regardless of whether you’re using a board management platform. If you’re looking for a board platform to help you streamline workflows and automate governance, we do offer solutions for companies and nonprofit organizations.

Is there a certificate of completion?

Yes! We’re happy to send you a certificate of completion via PDF with your name and a shiny new certification to add to your LinkedIn.

Why should I get a board management certification?

A board management certification is a valuable way to prove your knowledge and expertise. A good board course will help you expand your skillset, so you can manage your board with confidence and open up opportunities to advance your career or your business. On top of that, joining a board course can be a great way to access networking and mentorship opportunities with other leaders in your industry.