How to Implement Policy Goverenance
Apr 20, 2012

So you have decided to use the policy governance framework to organize roles and responsibilities within your organization. What now?

First, remember why you are seeking an organizational framework: likely your board and senior staff are stepping on each other's toes and meddling in each other's business because there is no agreement on how the roles are delimited. The rest of the staff see this chaos and lose the sense that anyone is leading the organization in anything other than their titles. Uncertainty breeds anxiety and distancing. The best staff and board members leave. The organization becomes ineffectual, irrelevant and ultimately insolvent.

Next, prepare yourself and your organization for significant change. This will require learning and patience and commitment from all organizational participants. Get some help. No one expects you to be an expert on Policy Governance or on organizational change.

Do some background reading and work with your consultant to develop a thorough understanding throughout the organization about the basic Policy Governance tenets. We will review them here over the next weeks.

To begin with master two key concepts in order to bring clarity to the roles and lines of responsibility for board and staff:
1. The ‘bow-tie' metaphor for how board and staff inter-relate (see the graphic under the Resources: Leradership tab). Basically boards make policy and delegate the implementation of those policies to staff.
2. Written role expectations with performance criteria clearly set and assessed at least annually for board members, board chair, chief staff officer and chief financial officer.