In the Governance echo chamber, we are biased to listen to voices that agree with our sentiments. It is challenging to recognise that our truths and perceptions are not universal. Our focus is often on the common view that it is no longer enough to target compliance.
We agree that more is expected by multiple different stakeholders. Governance is described and required by regulators and legislators. Investors lobby for better evidence of behaviour and intentions. Talent is drawn to organisations based on their positioning and messaging and consumer behaviour is similarly informed by perception of brands and reputation
We aspire to embed governance. We understand that this will involve developing a coherent story of how we align our organisation’s purpose, belief system, strategic decision making and governance behaviour. We recognise that success will depend on developing an effective and committed board, enabled by governance professionals.
In response to this challenge, academics call for more research to aid evidence-based decision making. Longitudinal studies of practitioner thinking exist, but forecasting the impact of current perceptions in changing circumstances is notoriously difficult.
Regulators, legislators and institutions provide rules, principles and examples of best practice.
And in each organisation, the leaders realise that there are no universal solutions to embedding governance. Time, effort, energy and judgement must be exercised by boards to establish 'Situationally Intelligent' responses. Three early insights generally emerge from our discussions:
It is necessary for us to curate the mass of information available in order to synthesise relevant and important messages and recognise patterns and trends.
We need to listen attentively to voices that challenge our perceptions and while this can be uncomfortable, it is valuable in developing better understanding.
Our strategic decision-making and behaviour will be widely scrutinised to ensure alignment with the beliefs we subscribe to and the intentions we have shared.
August often provides a welcome opportunity for individual reflection and catching up on reading. This year my Summer reading stack includes recent publications on strategy, governance and leadership and several rather dusty books from authors I have had the pleasure of working with over the last forty years. It will certainly provide food for thought.
And in September I return to participate in conversations with Boards and governance professionals who have scheduled time to think collectively about their capability and application.
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