Want help establishing communication governance? Ask IT.
Many of us are on board with operational governance: Editorial advisory boards and intranet steering committees are great to help you deliver what your stakeholders want to see in their favored communication channels. What they can’t do is ensure that your communication function as a whole stays aligned with – and relevant to – your organization’s needs. For that you need to take governance to the strategic level. Just like your colleagues in IT.
Strategic-level governance is about business alignment and staying honest to your value proposition. Few communication organizations have taken this step, but I think there is benefit for everyone. This is not easy work – IT organizations recognized the need for governance some time ago, and are still struggling to make good IT governance work.
If you find yourself trying to guess what your business leaders want, are worried about what your leaders are going to ‘do to’ your budget, or otherwise feel disconnected from the powers that be, you would probably benefit from some kind of governance system. A governance structure can keep you on track with strategy, improve your relationship with key stakeholders, and constantly reinforce your relevance to your organization.
At it simplest, governance can take the form of a small steering committee that meets with you quarterly and gives you feedback on your team’s contributions to the organization. Having this feedback (especially from a few highly-placed leaders) can be invaluable just to improve your team’s day to day work. At a strategic level, your steering committee can also approve your charter, mission or vision, help you establish a clear mandate, and be there with compelling evidence of your worth at budget time.
If your curious about governance systems and how they might work for you, reach out to your technology leaders. Odds are good that they have been down this road, and might have some valuable insights on what works in your organization to share.
