Going for Gold in Governance

As we near the Rio Olympics, it's great to see a focus on good governance in Australian sport with the release of this report from the Australian Sports Commission (ASC). Consistent with Koda's recent paper, Preparing for the Future - Do or Die for Non-Profit Boards, the report recognizes the need for leaders to adapt and for organisations to adopt best practice. 

The ASC report into Governance Reform in Sport flags important reforms. These reforms have included changes to align sports with governance best practice in areas such as:

• Board chair elected by the Board not the members;
• performance evaluation processes for Boards;
• corporate rather than association structures;
• establishment of key Board committees including nominations, audit and risk;
• Board diversity and skill mix. 

These reforms are important because good governance lifts performance. As the report says: "The cause of governance improvement has been embraced by sports and is already producing dividends for many. In some sports, this is already evident in their competitive and commercial performances."

This is the clincher.  Good governance is not just a risk management tool, it's a source of competitive advantage.