A transformation program should be an institutional capability, not a personal legacy. If the roadmap changes because a seat in the C-suite changed, you didn't have governance—you had a hobby.
In my time advising the C-suite at Gartner, I witnessed a recurring tragedy: a brilliant, $50M digital strategy dismantled in 90 days because the sponsoring VP moved on.
The incoming leader doesn't necessarily hate the program; they simply have no skin in the game. They haven't inherited a mandate—they've inherited a line item. Without durable governance, the program loses its "political air cover" and budget narrative simultaneously.
The Three Pillars of Durable Governance
From Sponsorship to Stewardship
Governance must be embedded into the operating structure of the organization itself. When accountability is shared across a cross-functional council rather than a single individual, leadership changes become tests of maturity rather than existential threats.
Institutionalizing the "Why"
The business case shouldn't live in a static deck. It needs to be a living, breathing outcome model. If an incoming leader can see exactly how the program is de-risking their own departmental KPIs, they are far less likely to cut the cord.
Decision Rights, Not Committees
Most governance is just a calendar of meetings. Durable governance is a clear map of decision rights. Who decides on pivot vs. persevere? Who owns the data standards? If these rights are codified, the program remains stable regardless of who is in the chair.
How to Build for Resilience
When we work inside programs at Digibard, we move governance from "reporting" to "resilience" using three specific tactics:
- Cross-Functional Backing: We ensure at least three departments are co-dependent on the program's success. This creates a "coalition of the willing" that protects the budget.
- The First 90 Days Protocol: We design a specific onboarding module for new executives that reframes the transformation as a tool for their specific success.
- Value Realization Dashboards: Automated reporting that connects technical milestones to business P&L in real-time.
An energy major saw its CIO and COO depart within three months of each other. Their $100M modernization effort could have evaporated. Because we had established a multi-tiered Governance Council comprised of Business Unit directors who owned the value targets, the program didn't just survive—it became the primary onboarding focus for the new leadership team.
The Honest Conversation
Is your program a personality-driven project or an organization-wide imperative? If the answer is the former, your transformation is at risk every time a headhunter makes a call.
The best time to build durable governance was at the start. The second best time is today.