Governance, a key element for a successful organizational transformation

5 March, 2020

Governance refers to the institutional stability and strength (power) that creates the favorable conditions to manage an administration and for the effectiveness in the decision making that is carried out, specifically in a change project. The simpler, more functional and more effective a project´s governance structure, all the better its implementation will advance, and more assuredly achieve the proposed objective.

Governance is one of the main elements within the 10 Elements. It contributes greatly to the success to organizational transformation processes. A solid governance scheme should be made up of members that are directly responsible for and benefit from the transformation’s success. This group of people should share the sense of importance, urgency and necessity of the change process.

Our recommendation with respect to this governance model has four components, regardless of the project management methodology that is used in the in its implementation:

Sponsor: this is ideally the organization’s top executive.
Steering Committee:consisting of people from the organization’s upper hierarchy and that are responsible for and benefit from the transformation.
Operating Committee:this consists of the project manager and his functional leaders. Its main task is to periodically monitor how well the project is complying with the project plan. With agile or hybrid methodologies, this committee would have to adjust to the pertinent practices.
Change Management
Change Management Committee: this group has the responsibility of maintain a balance between human and technical components of a project.

Two important aspects that should be clearly defined by all the members that make up the governance model of a project: how they are going to be evaluated – measured and how success will be recognized or, failing that, the consequences of the projects lack of success.

Just as is the case with all the elements proposed to ensure the success of change processes, the governance schemes should be permanent during the whole project. More so, it should even begin to work from the time the business case is put together and continue on to when the project success is achieved.