A  center for governance and leadership promotes an institutional culture that would produce a conducive working environment, characterized by these four “reference” institutional values: Commitment, competence, professionalism, and patriotism. It endeavours to foster, in actual practice, the close inter-connection between them.

It fosters commitment by properly cascading the institution’s charter statement – with its components of core values, mission, and vision – as well as its road map with its key strategic priorities clearly laid out. It also cascades the most important elements of the institution’s governance scorecard, with its measures, targets, and portfolio of initiatives. In the process of doing so, it hurls the challenge to the different departments, operating units, and individuals: what can you contribute towards the attainment of the vision? It asks: What targets are you willing to commit yourselves to meeting so you can clearly show that you add value to the institution? In other words, what commitment are you willing to put in by way of performance, which is measurable, and which you deliver by certain target dates? The commitments specify terms of reference for every department, operating unit, and individual within the institution. They are to be made with whole heart and mind. A center for governance and leadership should, therefore, exercise extreme care and diligence in obtaining these commitments: they are to be made, after all, with whole heart and mind!

The related step needs to be executed, also with great care since it involves the alignment of skills and competencies within the institution with the demands of the road map and the institutional governance scorecard. What new knowledge needs to be acquired? What about new skill sets, and a transformation of attitudes? What training programs should be on offer? What motivational programs should be put in place? In other words, since people are expected to turn in higher levels of performance, they should be properly equipped and motivated to do so.

This brings the center for governance and leadership to the third step, which is to combine commitment with competence in the delivery of results. Professionalism kicks in. This calls for a deep sense of rendering service, borne out of a sense of duty and commitment, and always with the required competence so as to make a genuinely positive difference towards all constituencies and stakeholders that the institution has to serve.

Finally, every individual within the institution goes about the duties of every day with extraordinary attention to details and diligence because we care, and because of the attitude that the center for governance and leadership seeks to engrain in all our hearts and minds: That serving the people – the constituencies and stakeholders we are called upon to serve – is the primary avenue towards showing love for country. Thus, patriotism is reserved not only for exceptional people, who give up their life for the country’s cause. It extends to ordinary people – particularly all individuals working within an institution – who carry out their ordinary duties extraordinarily well out of a deep love for people, and by extension, also for country.

Professionals, who are committed and competent in rendering service to others through the institutions where they work, produce a working environment that facilitates the achievement of breakthrough results. How to turn every individual who work in an institution, be it a corporation or a public governance unit, into such a professional is the challenge for every center for governance and leadership.