Decades of high-level nonprofit and corporate board work, including eBay, have taught The Bridgespan Group's Chairman and Co-founder Tom Tierney many things. Heading the list is that the only thing more important than strategic clarity is having the talent to execute the strategy for lasting impact.

In this third and final interview of a series with leaders who have crossover board experience, Bridgespan alumna Kathleen Yazbak, of Viewcrest Advisors, asks Tierney about his board work. Below he shares what he believes are key qualities and priorities defining an outstanding board. He also offers some practical suggestions for ways boards can set goals with an eye toward serving their organizations over the long term.

From your experience, what should boards, for-profit or nonprofit, do to help their organizations be successful?

I'm going to agree with Len Schlesinger and say that for any kind of board it's first and foremost the development, retention, and succession of talent. What that translates into is the best organizations are thinking about how to develop their executive director or CEO. And they're asking about the next generation of leaders, looking through the lens of developing the capabilities needed to deliver on strategy.

We know that organizations are better off developing their own talent than bringing it in from outside. We also know that having an "A" team that plays well together is absolutely critical. If you have an A team that doesn't work well together, it's like having a B team, which no organization strives for.

The second is strategic clarity, knowing what success looks like, and how to achieve it. In corporate settings, it's easier to gain clarity because the market and customers give you feedback. There is a tangible consequence for corporate boards not attending to strategy; their competitors advance. It's easier to make a widget than change a life, but for nonprofits, market signals are muted. You could continue on a path of mediocrity and survive. Nonprofits need to be intentional; we call it a Theory of Change rather than a strategy, and an organization needs to be constantly testing against it.

Read the full article about talent strategy at The Bridgespan Group.