The Dreaded Governance Word: How to ACTUALLY Keep Projects on Track
Governance. We know—you're already reaching for the skip button. But before you go, hear us out. This isn't about bureaucracy, PowerPoint decks nobody understands, or three-month implementation plans. This is about why some projects drift endlessly despite everyone working hard, while others deliver smoothly without burning people out.
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Lyndsey shares a genuinely uncomfortable story about being on a team where the leader kicked off a project using acronyms and jargon nobody understood. Everyone nodded and took notes like they knew what was happening, but two and a half weeks in, Lyndsey realized she had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to be doing. When she finally got brave enough to admit it, she discovered nobody else did either—except one team member who said "don't worry about it, nobody checks." The presentation to external stakeholders was cringingly bad, the reputational damage was real, and Lyndsey left feeling humiliated. All of it completely avoidable.
Briony counters with a story about good governance involving Lyndsey herself, when she led a complex, high-stakes international project. Lyndsey got everyone together, clearly defined each person's role, set a transparent timeline with checkpoints, and checked in weekly asking "where are you stuck?" instead of "why are you behind?" The project felt fun, motivating, and psychologically safe because everyone knew exactly what they needed to do and could ask for help without judgment.
The difference between these two experiences? Lightweight, human-centered governance that creates clarity instead of control.
Three Key Takeaways:
1. The Weekly 15-Minute Traffic Light Check-In – Create a simple visual dashboard (Google Doc, Notion page, Slack channel—wherever your team already lives) where each project or task gets a traffic light status: green (on track), amber (needs attention), red (blocked). In your weekly team meeting, spend exactly 15 minutes discussing ONLY the ambers and reds. If it's green, celebrate silently and move on—save win celebrations for a different forum. This only works if you've built psychological safety so people feel safe marking things amber or red without it feeling like personal failure. The key shift: governance as support, not surveillance. You're not checking up on people—you're creating conditions for them to succeed and immediately removing blockers. This prevents burnout by eliminating hour-long meetings discussing things that don't need attention while ensuring transparency across the whole team.
2. The "What Does Done Look Like" Document – Before any project starts (genuinely before the kickoff meeting), create a single-page document answering three questions: What does success look like? What's our definition of done? What are we explicitly NOT doing? This prevents scope creep and that horrible feeling of "wait, I thought we were building something completely different." When someone suggests adding features or you have a brilliant new idea mid-project, this document acts as a filter—is it in scope or does it go on the "good ideas for later" pile? Revisit this document at key milestones to ensure everyone stays aligned. High-performing teams can also bake their values directly into this document (e.g., "we are not working weekends to hit this deadline" or "we prioritize accessibility in every design decision"), which elevates project management from task-tracking into protecting and building team culture while you deliver.
3. Build Decision Rights Into Your Project Kickoff – Counter-cultural leaders often struggle here because they want to be collaborative and inclusive, but then nobody can make decisions because you're seeking consensus from 12 people across six teams. Use the RACI framework at project kickoff to explicitly map out: who's Responsible (doing the work), who's Accountable (final decision maker), who needs to be Consulted (give input), and who's just Informed (needs to know it happened). Write it down clearly: "Briony leads this, Lyndsey has final approval, we'll consult the design team on branding, we'll inform the company once it goes live." This takes one hour maximum but prevents endless conflicts. When people know their role, they can move with confidence and autonomy. If you're consulted, you give input then let go. If you're informed, you stay in the loop without weighing in on everything. If you're the decision maker, you can actually decide without seeking permission from 17 people.
None of these strategies require fancy software, consultants, or away days to figure out roles and responsibilities (yes, that's a real thing Lyndsey witnessed—a full away day just for that). You can implement all three in your next team meeting. Good governance isn't about complicated processes—it's about clarity, kindness, and respecting how humans actually work. It's giving people the transparency, autonomy, and support they need to deliver brilliant work without burning out.
If you've ever been in a project that drifted endlessly or where nobody really knew what "done" meant, these three lightweight frameworks will transform how your high-performing team stays on track.
