Okay, I may be on a governance rant here…

Policy Governance may seem almost like a fairy tale in the promise it offers to get the board out of day-to-day managing and into discussing the future. PG requires a paradigm shift from thinking about what is to what can be. It also requires the board to shift from thinking about activities to an orientation about delivering results.

I’m in touch with some board members who “get” Policy Governance and they all report that they bring Policy Governance principles to every board on which they serve. Whether trade association or arts council or school board, there is no denying the power of the model. But, it’s only for organizations that truly want to do more, that want to be cutting edge and competitive, that want to be on the forefront of leading positive change in the communities they serve, that see the future as full of possibilities instead of problems.

A couple of years ago I attended a workshop at the American Society of Association Executives about “managing” the board. The workshop was filled to capacity and I heard over and over the same old complaints (that I’ve been hearing for nearly 20 years) about board micromanagment or lack of engagement or the board not knowing what their job is. Why aren’t we doing anything to change this?
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The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The only way to get different results is to move beyond the traditional governance (and management concepts masquerading as governance) and try something new.
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A colleague recently attended a corporate governance conference. In the room, they were discussing the state of governance today. She said she felt like “here we are in the age of aerospace and I was listening to people talk about flight in terms of what feathers to use and which glue works best.”

What she is talking about (I think) is we’re content with a randomly selected mixture of “best practices” instead of a comprehensive model. Usually, “best practices” evolve from problem-solving or “fixing” something rather than creating lasting, sustainable change. The paradigm is still prescriptive solutions.  ”Take two aspirin and your headache will go away.”

If you want sustainable organizational change, you need a process, not a

If you’re using Policy Governance effectively, it is almost magic. But the magic doesn’t happen without education or preparation or work or practice. And it certainly doesn’t happen at random. Or by putting a band-aid on it and wishing and hoping the problem will go away.

Governance should not be a random collection of whatever seems to work best at the time. Or by following the latest fad. Governance excellence is intentional.

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