What separates effective trustee boards from the rest? Applying Strengthscope’s workplace research to the realities of trustee governance
Collectively, pension trustee boards oversee assets of around £1.5 trillion, and the governance expectations around these funds is only rising as regulation becomes more complex. This is reflected in the Government’s recent consultation paper, ‘Trust-based pension schemes: Trustees and governance, building a stronger future’, which aims to strengthen governance standards and ensure trustee boards are equipped to meet emerging challenges. With the consultation closing on 6 March 2026, questions around board capability, effectiveness and decision-making are in the spotlight.
Strengthscope’s 2026 ‘Team Effectiveness in the Workplace’ report, draws on research across industries and roles, exploring effective leadership and high-performing teams. But where can it offer valuable lessons for trustee boards seeking to strengthen governance and improve outcomes?
Why focus on strengths?
Strengthscope defines ‘strengths’ as underlying qualities that energise us and we are great at (or have the potential to become great at). When trustees recognise and use their individual and collective strengths, they deliver better outcomes for themselves, the wider board, the sponsor and scheme members.
Strengthscope has reported the following key statistics in relation to team performance more generally, and the advantages of using a strengths-based approach to support trustee board effectiveness are clear.
Empathic leadership on the rise
Strengthscope’s latest research shows that the highest-ranking leadership qualities are: leading, decisiveness and critical thinking. Empathy, compassion, courage and developing others are also rising in prominence, showing a shift towards more human-centric leadership. Increasingly, effective leaders are investing time in understanding and supporting people, nurturing skills and sustaining their engagement.
For trustee boards, this reinforces the pivotal role of the Chair. Chairs who combine strategic foresight with empathy are better positioned to set clear direction, manage complex stakeholder relationships and foster an environment where every trustee feels their contribution is valued.
The Government’s consultation highlighted that 85% of trustees may be planning to retire in the next three years. With this in mind, supporting new trustees and keeping them engaged will be important for trustee board continuity.
What makes an effective trustee team?
At a team level, Strengthscope identifies clarity, change readiness and accountability as the strongest predictors of effectiveness. This reflects a shift away from static, long-term planning towards more agile and adaptable ways of working. High-performing teams stay alert to change, and embed reflection and feedback into their routines to maintain alignment and focus.
In the context of trustee boards:
- Clarity means defining and articulating clear strategic priorities with all stakeholders, creating measurable goals and ensuring each trustee understands their role in achieving the board’s objectives.
- Change readiness involves anticipating and responding to regulatory, financial and operational developments through tools such as scenario planning, stress-testing and rehearsed incident response.
- Accountability, meanwhile, is underpinned by trust. Trustees need confidence that colleagues and service providers will follow through on agreed actions, even where decisions were complex or difficult to reach.
Bridging the gap between strategy and culture
The report’s data suggests that while teams are often good at planning for change, they are less effective at engaging people who may be resistant to it. This exposes a gap between strategy and culture: organisations may communicate change well but under-invest in the emotional and relational work needed to make it stick.
Boards can respond by making change management a collective habit rather than relying solely on the Chair. Building strengths awareness can help trustees appreciate different perspectives, collaborate more effectively and foster shared ownership of decisions. This is especially important in hybrid or remote settings, where early signs of resistance are harder to spot.
Recommendations for trustee boards
Effective boards combine human-centric leadership with agile, aligned teams. The following steps can help you to apply Strengthscope’s insights on clarity, change readiness and accountability, enhancing your performance as a board:
- Refine clarity of purpose by defining clear long and short-term objectives, success measures and individual roles and responsibilities.
- Build change readiness using scenario planning, incident response testing and agile governance processes.
- Improve accountability by embedding feedback, including through regular reflection, service provider performance reviews and formal board evaluations.
- Play to your strengths by understanding each trustee’s key drivers and how the board’s collective strengths complement one another.
It is not only what boards do that matters, but how they work together, respond to change and empower every trustee to contribute fully, ultimately ensuring better outcomes for members and all stakeholders.
If you’d like to learn more, you can read this case study or visit our Board Effectiveness page.
