Plumbing, Poetry, and Performance: A New Approach to Governance Leadership
We’re ending the year with a new approach to governance leadership, inspired by Brené Brown’s latest book Strong Ground.
The title grabbed our attention, but the content has held it ever since — especially Brené’s explanation that leadership is a mix of “plumbing and poetry”. So true. And we’ve taken this a step further by adding another P into the mix for governance leaders: performance.
To explain this in a boardroom context:
The plumbing is the governance system — all the paperwork and processes you need to blend together with the people dynamics. Like plumbing, it’s important that there are no leaks! The paperwork and processes get the right information to the board table.
The poetry is the storytelling and narrative — the organisation’s purpose (which every board must help the organisation deliver on), the strategy, and of course each board pack, which should be cohesive and constructive so people can clearly understand the proposals and decisions.
Yes, even board minutes are part of telling the story! Have a think about that next time you’re reviewing minutes… but they can’t be a work of fiction.
Then there is the performance — how board members and executives behave, perform, and interact on the stage of the meetings and beyond.
Everything we do is about helping boards and executive teams with their plumbing, poetry, and performance. Occasionally we’re there because there has been a bit of drama, or the plumbing is leaking all over the place! But mostly we’re working with people and organisations who want to improve their leadership collectively.
What a privilege.