Good Time Boards: Why Comfort Kills Resilience

In business, the boardroom is often painted as the pinnacle of leadership. A place of wisdom, oversight, and accountability. Yet too often, we see boards that are not leading but coasting, what I call “Good Time Boards.”

A Good Time Board looks fine on the surface. Meetings are cordial, lunches are pleasant, and reports are nodded through. But beneath the smiles, there’s a lack of rigour. Too many difficult questions are left unasked. Too many assumptions go unchallenged. And too often, the board exists for the comfort of its members rather than the growth and security of the business.

What do Good Time Boards look like?

• Consensus over candour – members would rather agree than debate.
• Comfort over challenge – hard truths are smoothed over in the name of harmony.
• Process over progress – the agenda is ticked off, but little value is added.
• Friendship over function – loyalty to individuals outweighs loyalty to the organisation.
• Blind spots in perception – directors often have little understanding of how they themselves are viewed by staff, customers, or partners.
• Disconnected from reality – many don’t know how the organisation really works day-to-day, preferring a neat report to messy reality.
• The iceberg of ignorance – 4% of front-line problems reach top management; boards often operate on the thinnest tip of the iceberg.
• Lack of listening – little curiosity about what people at every level are experiencing; no genuine interest in hearing voices beyond the boardroom.

In short, Good Time Boards thrive in the good times. When markets are buoyant and margins healthy, it’s easy to convince yourself that all is well. But when conditions change, as they inevitably do, these boards are exposed. Without the habit of scrutiny, they lack the resilience to steer through a crisis.

Why does it happen?

The reasons are usually human, not structural. Directors are wary of upsetting the chair. Chairs are wary of upsetting the CEO. Nobody wants to be the awkward voice in the room. And sometimes, people just enjoy the status and social aspect more than the responsibility.

What does a healthy board look like?

A high-functioning boardroom is not always comfortable. The best boards are those where trust is high enough for challenge to be real. Where directors feel not only permitted but obliged to ask the awkward question. Where people are clear that their duty is to the organisation and its stakeholders, not to keep the peace.

Strong board balance:

• Challenge with support – the CEO is backed, but not shielded.
• Short-term reality with long-term vision – today’s numbers matter, but so does tomorrow’s direction.
• Collective responsibility with individual accountability – nobody hides in the crowd.
• Insight with humility – board members listen, learn, and respect that they rarely see the full picture.

Moving beyond Good Time Boards

For chairs and directors alike, the work is about resetting expectations:

1. Re-establish purpose – why does this board exist, and for whom?
2. Invite discomfort – ask the questions nobody else is asking.
3. Measure value – does each meeting leave the business stronger than before?
4. Model honesty and listening – leaders set the tone by being candid, curious, and humble enough to hear unwelcome truths.

When boards do this well, they become more than a governance mechanism. They become a genuine leadership team guiding, protecting, and stretching the business through both good times and hard times.

Because the truth is this: a board that only works in good times is not a good board.

If you recognise elements of a Good Time Board in your own organisation, now is the moment to act. Regulation, investor scrutiny, market pressures, and shifting stakeholder expectations mean resilience is no longer optional.

This is where I help. My work with boards is about creating that balance, high trust, real challenge, and genuine leadership. If your board needs a reset, let’s talk.

 

Board Meeting Self-Checklist

Before your next meeting, take a moment to test the health of your own board. The questions below are designed to spark honest reflection and, if needed, uncomfortable conversations. They’re also the kind of conversations I help boards navigate: constructive challenge, sharper focus, and stronger governance. If you’re wondering whether your board is slipping into “Good Time” mode, start with these questions:

1.    When was the last time someone asked a question that genuinely unsettled the room, and was that welcomed?
2.    Do people feel more loyalty to fellow board members or to the organisation and its stakeholders?
3.    How much of the understanding of the business comes from neat reports, and how much from direct contact with staff, customers, or partners?
4.    If markets turned tomorrow, would the current board habits prepare us to respond quickly and decisively?
5.    Does every meeting leave the organisation stronger than before, or just more comfortable?

Populi Consulting helps boards move from ‘Good Time’ habits to resilient, effective leadership.