ICDM Survey Reveals Imperative for Boards in ASEAN to Realign Priorities Towards More Effective and Sustainable Governance

ICDM's ASEAN Board Trends Survey of 335 board and C-suite respondents found that many directors feel board deliberations do not enhance decision-making quality, with over half reporting that board members rarely express conflicting views — a structural blind spot that suppresses the constructive challenge essential for sound governance. The survey identifies foresight, board dynamics, and culture as the most underdeveloped governance capabilities across Southeast Asia, directly implicating founder-dominated and mid-market boards where groupthink and deference to the CEO are common failure modes. For SEA scale-up founders, this data provides a compelling case for formalising pre-mortem analysis and devil's advocacy as standard board practices before major strategic decisions.