Enabling your board to support you as a digital lead

There are key things that digital leaders can do to make it easier for board members to provide the support detailed here and to improve the conditions for delivery of digital change. 

• Insist on outcomes: When discussing work or new initiatives, consistently frame them in terms of the desired outcomes for users (patients and staff), rather than technical solutions. This helps the board understand the strategic impact and avoid the ‘solution trap’ of isolated IT projects.  
• Avoid technical language or solutions: Recognise the varying levels of technical knowledge on the board. Digital leaders should act as translators, making complex concepts accessible and comfortable for all board members to engage with. This involves storytelling and explaining the ‘why’ and ‘what for’ of digital change, not just the ‘how’.
• Work in the open: Avoid IT being seen as a separate part of the organisation by encouraging transparency. Regularly share progress, learning, and successes through show and tells, weeknotes, and user forums. This allows the board and organisation to see and engage with the ongoing work, building trust and understanding.
• Encourage and support executive director/non-executive director walk-arounds: Facilitate direct engagement between board members and the operational reality. These visits allow board members to see how technology is used on the ground, understand the challenges and successes firsthand, and connect digital initiatives to tangible patient and staff experiences. This helps them move beyond viewing IT as a separate line item.
• Integrate with other teams: Advocate for and build multi-functional teams that embed digital expertise within the business. This reduces ‘slow decision-making and transactional working’ by empowering teams with all the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver outcomes holistically across people, process, technology, and culture. Reduce the mileage claims for ideas and decisions.
• Frame risks in business and user terms: Instead of technical jargon, articulate risks in terms of their potential impact on patient safety, staff experience, organisational reputation, financial sustainability, or strategic objectives. For example, instead of ‘legacy system vulnerabilities’, explain it as ‘risk of data breaches impacting patient trust and incurring financial penalties’.
• Propose board-level mitigation strategies: For each significant risk, suggest concrete actions the board can take to mitigate it, reinforcing their active role in governance (e.g., ‘board needs to champion long-term investment in foundational infrastructure’ or 'board must ensure robust cyber security assurance includes third-party vendors’).
• Quantify and qualify benefits: Go beyond simple efficiency metrics. Clearly articulate how digital initiatives will lead to improved patient outcomes, enhanced staff experience, increased operational effectiveness, and long-term sustainability. Use data to support these claims where possible and provide qualitative examples to illustrate the human impact.
• Highlight system-wide benefits: Emphasise how local digital efforts contribute to broader ICS goals, such as improved interoperability, shared data, and collective patient impact. This reinforces the strategic importance of collaboration.
• Connect to board priorities: Explicitly link digital initiatives, their risks, and their benefits back to the trust's overall strategic vision and the board's most pressing priorities. This ensures digital is seen as a critical enabler, not a separate agenda.