TBL: Executives Sink Or Swim In A Board Meeting

Board meetings aren't just be a formality. They're a proving ground for leaders

Few mistakes haunt a CEO more than hiring the wrong executive.

The worst part is you often know you’ve made that mistake deep down before you can admit it, and by the time you act, the damage is already done. The wrong leader in a key role, especially on an executive team, doesn’t just underperform—they slow everyone down, create confusion, and quietly stall the company’s momentum. In a fast-growing organization, where every role is vital and capacity gaps widen quickly, the wrong hire can set you back months, or even years.

As my business, Acceleration Partners (AP) grew, I began to notice that our leaders’ performance in board meetings was a strong litmus test for their overall ability and growth potential. These interactions became a very good predictor of who would excel long-term, and who proved to be unprepared for a bigger role.

As I’ve written previously, before we brought in investors at AP we used to have a Board of Advisors that we met with quarterly. Following other founders’ advice, we asked key executive team members to present at each meeting and take questions and feedback from the board. Then, in an executive session after each meeting, I debriefed with the board and got their feedback on the team.

If you don’t have a Board of Advisors, this is another compelling reason to put one together and ask your team to present, so they’ll hear feedback from someone other than you. Performance in these sessions reveals whether a leader is ready to lead in a scaling organization, and it showcases these essential qualities for executive-level leadership.