A client once asked me:

What does good governance actually look like?

I did not take long to draft a response.

It’s something asked many times…

Especially, when things start to get wrong.

Well, it starts with experienced people.

Period.

And…

People who bring different perspectives.

People capable of overseeing an executive team without trying to become the executive team.

Look.

Governance is not day-to-day management.

It is challenge.

Support.

Direction.

And intervention when required.

Remember that… when required.

A strong governance group ensures that the executive team has the right people, experience and advisers around the table.

It ensures that they understand the Project Agreement.

Not just what it says.

How it should be applied.

A contract cannot anticipate every situation that will arise over a 25 or 30-year PPP.

That is why applying it mechanically is rarely enough.

In fact… it usually ends in a disaster… but that’s for another day.

The executive team must know when to be strict.

When flexibility is commercially justified.

And when a seemingly minor decision could create a very expensive precedent.

The governance group must also define what success means.

Very, very important.

If the definition of success is: “We delivered against the original budget.”

Prepare to suffer… and pay.

Projects change.

Risks materialise.

And… Contractors may have legitimate entitlements.

It’s part of life.

The real question is whether every change, claim and project event was properly assessed, fairly treated and managed in accordance with the contract.

While protecting the client’s interests.

And maintaining a best-for-project approach.

Partnership matters too.

But partnership does not mean avoiding difficult conversations.

It means collaborating constructively.

Helping when you can.

Being transparent.

And holding each other accountable when you must.

Good governance also demands clear, honest and useful reporting.

Not 200-page board packs designed to demonstrate activity… and keeping a bunch of people busy.

No.

Information that allows experienced people to ask difficult questions, identify emerging problems and make timely decisions.

And when something is not working at the executive level?

The governance group must act.

Without hesitation.

A big infrastructure project will struggle when either side is weak, under-resourced, poorly advised or inadequately supervised.

There is one final point.

Ideally, the people sitting on a project Steering Committee should have done something similar before.

Not necessarily the exact same project.

But they should understand the pressures, trade-offs and consequences of the decisions they are overseeing.

Experience is not a guarantee of success.

And a lack of direct PPP experience, for example, does not mean that capable executives cannot deliver one exceptionally well.

It simply means they need the right support around them.

That, in my opinion, is good governance.

Not more meetings.

Judgement.

Common sense.

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