What Are Board Governing Modes, and When Should We Use Them?

Board Governing Modes - What Are They?

The three main governing modes of a board are fiduciary, strategic, and generative. An effective board will use all three modes throughout the year, and will switch between modes in a single meeting.

Fiduciary Mode

The fiduciary mode involves overseeing assets, compliance, risk management, and ensuring responsible stewardship of the organization’s resources. This mode focuses on budgets, audits, legal, and financial responsibilities.

Strategic Mode

In the strategic mode, the board sets direction by shaping organizational strategy, tracking performance, and making high-level decisions about priorities and long-term plans. This mode involves reviewing plans and external risks, helping management prioritize initiatives, and evaluating programs or performance.

Generative Governance

Generative governance means engaging in deeper inquiry, creative thinking, and framing critical issues that shape the organization’s future and long-term identity. When in this mode, focus on asking big-picture questions, examining underlying assumptions, and providing insight to illuminate core challenges and opportunities. This mode requires intentional meeting design.

Summary

During your meeting, make sure each agenda item is operating within at least one of these modes. If an agenda item does not fit one of these modes, consider if it would be a better topic for a committee or a social gathering. A well-crafted meeting agenda includes items that make linkages between the modes.

Operating solely in fiduciary mode = decent governance.

Operating in fiduciary and strategic mode = good governance.

Operating in fiduciary, strategic and generative modes = great governance.