Ctrl + Alt + Govern

When governance is mentioned in a meeting, the energy dips. People are not fundamentally engaged in discussions about terms of reference, decision making protocols or accountability frameworks. Why is this?

Perception versus reality in governance is stark: those on the front line see governance as dry, procedural, and disconnected from the urgency and complexity of practice. Decision makers versus doers. Governance is misunderstood; it’s seen as a systemic creativity stifler and a red tape enforcer. That said, it’s not just the front line that see it like this. Even those within the governance itself can grow frustrated with slow processes, the burden of compliance, and the dissonance between strategic intent and operational reality.

I recently read some research on learnings from the South African public sector¹, and a couple of terms which piqued my interest were “over-governance” and “governance and reporting fatigue”. When you consider the increase in digital ‘back-to-back’ meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic; the well-known and documented psychological strain which can be felt across various elements of the public sector; and the growing complexity of multi-agency coordination is it any surprise that people are reticent to engage in governance which can feel ineffective and uninspiring? Not really.

A blog post by Ted Rau², suggests that governance discussions “seem like a distraction” from the wider aims of an organisation – be that front line operations, service delivery, or crisis response.  This is the point I keep reflecting on, governance just isn’t sexy – it doesn’t have the same emotional resonance that front line services do – but it doesn’t have to be like this. Governance can be fast-paced and focused.

My take: governance is in a dire need of a rebrand. Governance needs to be reframed. Kimberley Mackenzie³ described this as “cultural recalibration”, the need to move away from “a scripted agenda, nodding heads, and safe-but-empty resolutions that check boxes instead of confronting the real issues”. Governance should be about facilitating a space for collaborative sense-making, where uncomfortable questions are asked and answered, and where agencies take pragmatic problem solving approaches to collaboratively work through issues together, rather than defaulting to rigid compliance, performance reporting or siloed decision-making.

Throughout the research for this blog post, I’ve been learning about the principles of sociocracy (of which Ted Rau mentioned above is deeply involved, as the co-founder of Sociocracy For All). Sociocracy works on a principle of governance circles, rather than hierarchical governance. Circles work in small groups, with defined aim and authority within their domain. Each circle is linked through a number of designated connectors who facilitate information flow and balance. Decisions within circles are made by consent, and if one member objects the proposal needs to be improved. This creates a system which is semi-autonomous, able to run independently within their scope, yet remain interdependent as part of a cohesive whole.

Governance has this potential – to become organic and meaningful, a living system that supports participation and innovation, where complexity is embraced, not avoided, and where people feel empowered to shape the systems they work within. I know what you’re thinking “yes, yes, this all sounds lovely in principle, but it would never work in practice”. But why? Why do we hold such complacency when it comes to governance in a world where efficiency and impact are at the forefront of organisational conversations? Because organisations aren’t brave. Organisations aren’t critical and honest enough to break down the systems which have stood the test of time and finally rebrand governance to be a living system which enables their organisation to be responsive, adaptive, and imaginative, rather than rigid, reactive, and repetitive.

¹ Learnings from the South African public sector | Asogan

²  “Governance is boring?”​ – No, governance helps us be better humans | Ted Rau

³ From Boring to Bold: Rethinking Governance | Kimberley Mackenzie