Wise counsel.

• Position: EDITOR'S NOTE

The Governance Year in Review issue is our opportunity to reflect on the year just past, with the month-by-month timeline of 2014 (starting on page 27) as the centerpiece of our look back. What I like to do for my editor's note in this special issue is assemble a top 10 list of keenly observed comments on board leadership made by authors in their 2014 articles. It makes for a tough cut, but here goes:

* It's time to acknowledge the hard truth: Digital rules the customer, employee, and shareholder roosts! And that means that if you don't have at least one digital director on your board, you need him or her now.--"Creating a Digital Advisory Board" by Barry Libert (Q1 issue).

* The 'nose in, fingers out' approach widely advocated and practiced by public company directors is anathema to PE directors. --"What Public Company Directors Might Learn from the PE Playbook" by Allan Grafman and Jason Kelly (Q1).

* A CEO must work with directors as if they were an extension of the leadership team. They are.--"A Board Must Be Managed" by Randy Thurman (Q1).

* One of the most desirable attributes of a world-class director is their ability to hone in and ask the tough questions.--"What To Ask a Prospective Board Member" by Dennis Cagan (Q2).

* Boards have to stop thinking like they are some form of tribunal that sits on top of the organization.--"The Beta Board" by Dana Ardi (Q2).

* Our selection processes for new directors are subject to a host of subtle and often unrecognized biases, the result of which can create much less diverse and effective boards than most members realize. --"How 'Rational' Are Our Choices for New Directors?" by Gary Cook (Q2).

* It's very obvious at board meetings who has and hasn't prepared...