What do you actually do when you do governance?

What do you actually do when you do governance?

Is governance sexy? The day to day tasks of governance can look decidedly ‘unsexy’ – it requires research, preparation, and constant upskilling to ensure that you have the skills and information necessary to make significant strategic decisions that can have intergenerational consequences. It requires cultivating emotional intelligence in yourself, and building positive working relationships with fellow directors, staff, and stakeholders of the organisation you govern. Most importantly, it requires you to nurture your own physical and mental wellbeing and resilience so that you are able to work through challenging conversation and be fully present when making these decisions. Governance can be heavy work, but if you are passionate and purposeful about the work that you are doing – it can also be rather sexy. What do you think?

Shout out to Paul Smith of Future Directors Institute, whose “preparation, preparation, preparation” mantra still sticks with me.