ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP VS GOVERNANCE

Leadership is increasingly being discussed as part of the wider conversation on
governance in both private and public sectors. The notion of leadership being property contained within one individual by looking at ways in which leadership is necessarily integrated with governance structures, systems and processes is paramount.

While rules, systems and structures are certainly important, they are primarily the vehicles by which crucial values and behaviours are applied.
Good governance is therefore primarily a function of the behaviours and values of the organisation’s leaders and of theoverall culture of the organization.
Transparency and public scrutiny are tantamount points as far as leadership within a public sector environment is concerned.

The interconnectedness of leadership and governance are crucial in organizational management. Government administration, operating a democratic mandate as it does, requires governance structures that demand accountability. An external auditor and governance systems provide reliable frameworks from which to operate.
There are many examples within the public sector where leaders steer an organization not from “somewhere to somewhere greater but from somewhere to something that no longer existed”.
So governance is not merely about getting the structures right, it is about promoting culture and the behaviours of leadership.

There are governance challenges faced by an organization comprised of both elected representatives and ministerial appointments. The challenge of leading an organization that administers a huge budget requires a “hands off” approach. This calls for a consultative organization, with transparency, trustworthiness and a sense of shared risk at its centre. Issues of integrity, fairness and courage are essential is such organizations.
To succeed here one needs to act with responsibility, fairness, wisdom, care and respect are the behavioural issues that back up structural governance frameworks, hence leadership and good governance are things that organizations must talk about in order to achieve the organizational mission, vision a and objectives.
Types of leadership qualities demanded by public/private sector collaborations such as that undertaken by Manpower are important. The distinction between management and leadership as the difference between doing the same things but more efficiently (management) and taking the organization from one place to another (leadership).
The process of decision making, deciding the right things to achieve and the right way to do them, are the key to understanding an organization. Critical to success is communicating the agreed vision to all stakeholder groups and making sure that all the constituents align. Providing services for the public sector means working within legislative frameworks.
The crucial factor for success in this environment is transparency. In setting up the framework for working together, there is need of concerted effort in developing the vision “because the vision sets the direction for the leaders to talk about what is the right thing and how to set about doing that so that every single person in the organization understands how their job contributes to that success.”

For example understanding the governance structures of each of the organizations provides a means of working together and developing synergy rather than tension and conflict.
The nature of leadership is not static but a dynamic interchange between leaders and followers that travels along a continuum, offering opportunities for leaders to emerge within various forums at various times. The uniting factor in all leadership situations is the ability of leaders to role model good behaviour and to “not lose sight… of true north on the [moral] compass”.

Within any leadership tenure, problems will arise and it is the ability to take on difficult feedback and to welcome diversity of viewpoint that marks a successful leader. Further, the governance structure has to be fit for purpose, designed to work within the context, whether that be a political, community or corporate compliance context.
Communication is crucial in organizational management. By listening to personnel, the flow of information is maintained. A sign of an organization that’s struggling is where information is over-controlled, where inputs are not sought from a sufficient number of people.
An effective leader is one who may not be immediately identifiable. The best leaders are the ones you would not know were there. It’s the bad leaders that are always remembered.
The point in leadership is centred on trustworthiness, values and a sense of inclusiveness for the success of organizations across the spectrum of public, private and not-for-profit sectors.