“Trust is the coin of the realm,” and Boards’ oversight of stakeholder trust represents a formidable opportunity for directors to contribute to their organization’s success. This publication provides a set of practical guidelines that boards can use to probe and assess trust among five key stakeholder groups—the general public, investors, employees, customers, and suppliers. It looks how trust has an impact on operations and long-term prosperity; at the factors that help determine how different stakeholder groups evaluate an organization’s trustworthiness; and the kinds of questions directors should be asking to oversee and assess stakeholder trust.

The goal for boards is to grow the “circle of trust” with stakeholders and in doing so, add strategic value to the firm and influence its performance.