Governance has a bad reputation. Mention it and people picture overstuffed steering committees, often comprised of senior people (not necessarily the right people) and decisions unmade for weeks.
I’ve been mired in these scenarios and, even as the boundlessly enthusiastic transformation lead I am, it’s made me hate the transformation. That’s not governance’s fault. It’s the absence of the Purpose, People, Planning and Change work that wasn’t done or was quickly forgotten.
I've worked on programs where every pivot, every ‘can we just try this’ had to go to committee. In one case, a bog standard one-page Go/No Go morphed into an unwieldy multi-page business case. I shouldn’t have let that happen, but the broader issue was competing strategies and unclear prioritisation, resulting in teams running full tilt in opposite directions.
The governance was me vs. you. What can I get for MY team and MY part of the business. There was no trust. Politics became the governing frame, and nobody had the confidence to make a decision. EVERYTHING went up to the committee. And a program that was meant to move fast spent half its energy waiting for permission.
I've also worked on programs where the purpose was clear, and trusted teams made these calls themselves. You know, like professional adults. Governance was still there, and accountability was real, but because direction and delegation were understood, teams were confident to run with it.
Those programmes were more successful, and more fun. There was less spinning of plates and more exploring.
Without this groundwork and trust, busy sponsors ask themselves the wrong question. "How do I find more time for this?" You can't. The time isn't there. Even with a clear calendar, it still takes a village. You can't personally make every call, review every deliverable, or be in every room that matters.
And even when you are in the room, sometimes you won’t have a clue what is being discussed. That’s just the reality of the modern workplace.
The sponsors who get this act like gardeners, not foremen. A gardener doesn't grow the plant. They prepare the ground, clear the weeds and put a stake in early to provide support. Then they step back and let it grow, providing guidance and arbitration when needed.
That's the job. Set the direction, clear the political weeds and give teams the authority to decide without you in the room. Trust the ground you prepared.
Without that trust, governance becomes a bottleneck. Get purpose, people, planning and change right, and the sponsor’s role is honed and becomes purposeful. Decisions get made and blockers are cleared in five minutes flat, because the team already knows what "on strategy" looks like and just needs a nod.
The Readiness Guide available on our website walks through Governance and five other focus areas that determine whether you're delivering a technology project or transforming your business. It's free and it might help you out if you’re stuck.