Governance has a branding problem.

In many organisations, it’s treated as paperwork. Templates. Stage gates. Forms to satisfy audit requirements.

That’s not governance.
That’s administration.

Real governance is about power — who has it, how it’s exercised, and when decisions are made.

Effective governance answers four brutal questions:

1. Who decides?

2. On what basis?

3. With what consequences?

4. At what point is escalation mandatory?

When governance fails, it’s rarely because the framework was missing. It’s because authority was unclear or deliberately avoided.

I’ve seen beautifully designed governance models collapse because:

• Decisions were pushed down without support

• Escalation was culturally discouraged

• Committees existed but had no teeth

• Leaders wanted consensus when decisiveness was required

Good governance creates speed, not friction.
It enables delivery by removing ambiguity.

If your project governance produces more documents than decisions, it isn’t governance — it’s theatre.

Governance has a branding problem.

In many organisations, it’s treated as paperwork. Templates. Stage gates. Forms to satisfy audit requirements.

That’s not governance.
That’s administration.

Real governance is about power — who has it, how it’s exercised, and when decisions are made.

Effective governance answers four brutal questions:

1. Who decides?

2. On what basis?

3. With what consequences?

4. At what point is escalation mandatory?

When governance fails, it’s rarely because the framework was missing. It’s because authority was unclear or deliberately avoided.

I’ve seen beautifully designed governance models collapse because:

• Decisions were pushed down without support

• Escalation was culturally discouraged

• Committees existed but had no teeth

• Leaders wanted consensus when decisiveness was required

Good governance creates speed, not friction.
It enables delivery by removing ambiguity.

If your project governance produces more documents than decisions, it isn’t governance — it’s theatre.