Stepping into the chair toolkit

Stepping into the chair toolkit

Practical guidance and tools for directors taking on their first chair role – from understanding what changes to navigating the first 180 days, the chair–CEO relationship and everyday boardroom situations.

author
Institute of Directors
date
2 Sep 2026

Moving from director to chair is a significant shift. This Stepping into the chair toolkit is a practical set of resources for first-time chairs, designed to support the first six to 12 months in the role,  whether stepping up from within a board or joining a new board as chair.

The resources are built around four transition themes: Shift – understand what changes; Set – establish focus, expectations and boundaries; Strengthen – build relationships, board dynamics and constructive challenge; and Sustain – support board performance, chair effectiveness and succession.

Start with the How to use the Stepping into the Chair resource, then explore:

Use the resources together, individually as they issues arise, or alongside an outgoing chair, deputy chair, mentor or formal induction process.