This is the time of year that I find myself immersed in budget discussions in each board meeting I attend, whether as non-executive Director, Trustee or simply as a governance coach/consultant. No matter where I am in the world, there are days at the moment when I seem simply to move from one meeting to another where I am diving into figures, questioning projections, challenging the data, and contributing to the prediction of scenarios and productive outcomes. I do enjoy this: these are intense sessions, demanding concentration, rigour and clarity; amidst the reading and interrogating of spreadsheets and forecasts, however, I am reminded of something much more fundamental – something which underpins all effective governance: the skill of thoughtfulness.
Governance, at its heart, is about making decisions that serve the best interests of an organisation and its people. And this starts not with talking, but with thinking: deep, reflective, considered thinking. Thoughtfulness in governance is not about hesitation or delay – quite the opposite. It is, I believe, about creating space to think carefully; it is also about drawing on our diverse backgrounds and experiences, pausing long enough to reflect, and allowing new conclusions – and sometimes entirely new ideas – to emerge.
This thinking process, of course, is not an isolated one. The next step in governance – and a vital one – is communication; we must be able to articulate our thoughts, share them with clarity, listen carefully to others, engage in respectful discussion, and ultimately work collectively with our fellow Board members to steer towards consensus. Without the foundation of thinking, however, the ship can very quickly go off course; good governance starts with – and is sustained by – thoughtfulness.
In a world that often demands rapid response and immediate answers, there is something profoundly powerful – even radical – about choosing to think deeply. Thoughtful governance sharpens our cognitive skills. It builds our astuteness, and tt feeds our understanding of the world and our place within it.
So, as I surface from another round of number-heavy meetings, I remind myself that the real work of governance is not only in the spreadsheets or strategy documents. It lies in the pause before the decision, and in the reflection before the action. It is in the space we create to think … and this something worth pondering upon.
Enjoy pondering!
