How do I turn my board into a real asset?

You have crossed from surviving your board to using it, and that is a real shift. A board handled well is not an obligation to endure four times a year — it is a room full of experience, relationships, and judgment that you can put to work. Most leaders never learn this. You clearly have, and it will compound. The two habits you have built are the ones that matter: sharp materials and hard news handled cleanly. Together they buy you the thing every leader needs and few earn — trust. A board that trusts you argues less over the small things and backs you more on the big ones, because they know you will show them the truth and come prepared. That trust is the asset, and you keep it by never spending it carelessly. To get more from the room, start bringing them real problems, not just polished updates. Before the next meeting, choose one genuine open question where their experience could sharpen your thinking, and put it to them directly. A board asked for help becomes engaged rather than merely informed — and that is when it turns from a body you report to into one that actually makes you better.