Standards but not Standard

Governance is a much misunderstood discipline at the leadership level from the perspective that the scope of the term is often limited.
Governance is not just about control. Control these days seems to be a dirty word but a leader who is not in control of key elements rarely finds success. Good governance allows the leader to manage with confidence in the knowledge that, if adhered to, the relevant processes provide an outcome that is predictable and consistent and provides the best opportunity for success.
Good governance ensures that processes are efficient as well as effective, allowing the business unit to respond more quickly and also by reducing waste, errors and re-work there can be real, tangible cost savings.
In ever increasing complex and resource constrained organizations, the requirement for leaders to stay in tune with their environment is critical. Appropriate governance frameworks allow the leader to efficiently manage the way business is executed.
Good governance then is essential. As a leader, make sure that you have the right level of governance to enable you to be effective in your role. Don’t confuse it with micro-management though. Implement standards and good practice and then empower others to execute with spot checks along the way. “Show me” is a great way to identify if people are doing the right things in the right way.
For a business to succeed in the increasingly complex, uncertain and volatile business world it is essential that core processes have critical governance frameworks to ensure that the leader can effectively remain accountable for the performance of the business unit.
People making up their own processes happens all too frequently and often from their perspective for all the right reasons. The leader needs to provide context around why the process exists and why it exists in the format developed. Blind obedience is not a good recipe for efficient execution – employees need to be invested in the role that they are performing.
Adherence to processes that work will provide confidence to the leader that the team are performing as required and to standards that have been thought through and are fit for purpose. The alternative? Chaos and errors that will undermine the brand, service delivery, profitability, will slow you down and increase your organizational risk.