When we talk about improving governance, a key question that keeps on surfacing is:  How much time should the chief executive spend on governance?

When I asked governance experts this question, without hesitation they say 25%! After that first response, the often pause and then add this statement, They should spend more than 25%, but that might be unrealistic. This is the response from experts at three national conferences I attended for board members and chief executives in health care, colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations.

When I asked a similar question to Chief Executives, How much time do you spend on governance? their response was only 5% to 10%. They justified this time allocation to the reality of their jobs and the amount of time it takes to run an organization.

Clearly there is a lack of alignment between the current reality of chief executives and the expectations of governance experts.

Peter Drucker, in his 1990 article entitled Lessons for Successful Governance, answers the question with a question and then provides his view.

Who should be responsible for an effective board, for the relationship between board and executive officer, and for the structure of governance in the nonprofit institution? The standard answer is, the board’s chairperson. There is only one thing wrong with this; it does not work. What works is to assign responsibility for the effective governance of the organization to the (chief) executive officer and to make it one of his or her key duties.

Peter Drucker avoids the time question. He creates clarity by re-framing the question about how time the chief executive should spend on governance by stating that the chief executive is responsible for effective governance. To be clear, Peter Drucker also stated in this article that the chief executive must work with the volunteer board chair to ensure effective governance.

Blue Avocado, a  popular nonprofit blog, asks a similar question, Who is responsible for the board doing a good job? They look to Peter Drucker for advice as well.  We agree with Peter Drucker: The responsibility for the board’s effective work — both governance and support — is ultimately the responsibility of the executive director.

The chief executive and the board chair must forge the governance partnership. That not only takes time…more than 25%…it takes commitment! The chief executive must do what it takes to ensure that the governance is effective!