“This paradox is alarming” New data suggests major board readiness gaps

New data compiled by The Corporate Governance Institute has shown a striking disconnect when it comes to how confident corporate leaders are in their oversight. 

While a vast majority boast a general confidence overall, the picture flips when zooming in on individual issues, where boards admit there is much to be done to improve and get up to standard. 

The new data from The Corporate Governance Institute is contained in the new white paper Boardroom Resilience in 2026: Independent Research Into Board Readiness, Risk and Strategy. It reveals a confidence gap that easily reaches the heart of modern boardrooms, casting doubts over boards’ preparedness to tackle key issues like cyber security, AI adoption and governance, and intensifying scrutiny from regulators. 

This “alarming’ paradox, as described by Ciarán Bollard, Chief Executive of The Corporate Governance Institute, suggests that while leaders feel secure in their general roles, they are underprepared for escalating challenges in real-time, a by-product of today’s high-stakes, highly volatile world of corporate governance. 

The research in Boardroom Resilience in 2026: Independent Research Into Board Readiness, Risk and Strategy was compiled in the UK and Ireland in Q3 2025. 500 board directors and C-suite executives were surveyed in total, each from companies with more than 100+ employees. The average company size was over 300 employees. 

While offering swathes of information on how ready boards feel to tackle modern governance challenges, one of the biggest conclusions was the issue of “static governance” – companies whose top-level skillsets and training simply didn’t keep pace with the rapidly changing governance environment. Despite the high-level optimism, 86% of respondents admitted their organisations must do more to address potential governance blind spots or deficiencies.

Bollard stressed that this should be taken in a very serious context, noting that most boardroom agendas across the world have shifted dramatically since the start of the 2020s, with AI, cyber threats, and geopolitical risk now sitting as core responsibilities rather than emerging ideas.

“Our research shows that while many directors feel confident in their boards overall, that confidence does not always extend to the specific governance capabilities organisations need to stay resilient in 2026,” he said. 

“This paradox is alarming. A board that is truly prepared is defined not only by its current skills and experience, but by its capacity for continuous adaptation.”

• While 85% of directors report feeling confident in their board overall, only 35% maintain that high level of confidence when it comes to addressing specific governance and compliance issues, specifically cyber security, AI adoption and governance, and intensifying scrutiny from regulators. 
• Training deficits: 85% of directors agree that a lack of professional development is a primary cause of governance failure.
• ESG oversight: 41% of boards currently lack a formal approach to ESG governance, and 15% have no plans to implement one.
• The human cost: 76% of leaders agree that governance failures directly damage employee satisfaction, linking boardroom performance to staff retention and culture.
• Regulatory disconnect: While 80% are focusing on improving compliance, only 22% identify the complex regulatory environment as a top business risk—suggesting many may be underestimating the scale of the challenge.

The report called for a shift from “static” to “dynamic” model of board oversight, saying that companies “must address blind spots through targeted upskilling, strategic succession planning, improved diversity, and stronger transparency and accountability across governance practices.”

“Business as usual is no longer sufficient,’ it said. “To close the confidence gap, TCGI calls for a shift toward a more dynamic model of oversight. This includes targeted upskilling for board members, more strategic succession planning, and a commitment to transparency.

Download the full report here: Boardroom Resilience in 2026: Independent Research Into Board Readiness, Risk and Strategy.