Organizations often grow for reasons that have little to do with governance strength. Maybe it is a charismatic leader, favorable time in the market, it might even be the result of a competitor’s missteps. For schools some time a new program catches fire or a demographic or cultural wave changes clients’ interest. None of these are bad and none of them guarantee long‑term resilience. In fact, rapid success often exposes governance weaknesses rather than resolving them. Growth increases complexity. Complexity increases risk. And risk requires a Board and an Executive that are aligned, disciplined, and clear about their roles.
Often when leaders say, “We’re successful, so we don’t need governance development,” probably what they mean, without knowing it, is, “We don’t feel the pain yet.” But governance development should not be seen as pain relief, it should be looked at as strength conditioning.
Success can a wonderful teacher, but does not always instruct strategy, for when things are going well, Boards can drift into an often arrogant, unspoken assumption: “If the organization is thriving, we must be doing everything right,” which from experience of many organizations, not a realistic correlation.
A thriving organization can be successful even if governance is poor. Success does not necessarily provide for aligned governance. Boards rarely see clearly in the moment. Success creates a flattering mirror. It reflects the glow of the institution back onto the Board, even when the Board has not done the hard work of building a healthy governance culture.
Complacency whispers, “We’re fine,” when the wiser voice should ask, “why?” Most organizations cannot answer that question or explain what they will do when “we are fine,” no longer exist. When Boards suggest “they are fine’, is time to make a declaration: “We need to sharpen the tools in our governance tool box.”
One of the most overlooked dynamics of an organization’s success, new Board members often “lock in” their understanding of governance based on their first few meetings, so if the organization is thriving, they assume the Board is functioning well, if the culture feels friendly, they assume the Board is healthy and if they are new to governance altogether, an agenda full of operational updates says “this is what Boards are all about.” Without early governance training, these first impressions harden into habits and habits become the culture. By the time the Board realizes it needs to shift, the new members have already internalized the wrong lessons. Success doesn’t just mask governance gaps, it cements them and generally painful governance failures rarely emerge during time of struggle. They show up at points when success looked good, but was never managed well.
Boards avoiding development during growth can be compared to a runner refusing conditioning because the race hasn’t started yet. When the real test comes, leadership transition, financial pressure, cultural conflict, strategic confusion or disagreement, the Board discovers it is unprepared. By then, inaction costs a high price.
Ironically, savvy Boards never avoid governance training at the moment most conducive to it: when an organization is growing. Why? 1)The Board has energy, 2) The community has trust, both internal and external, 3) The leadership has momentum, 4) The institution has capacity. These are the moments to strengthen foundation, not postpone them.
Governance development is not a remedy; it is a discipline. Better positions for Boards to express might be: 1) “We’re successful, so we want to steward this time wisely,” 2) “We’re growing, so we need to grow in our governance,” 3) “We’re thriving, so we want to ensure this continues.” That is the posture of a Board that understands its calling. Success is not a shield against governance work. It is an invitation to it.
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