Lyn McDonell on Next-Level Governance
This is Next-Level Governance. This is Enlightened Enterprise.
The Enlightened Enterprise Academy is delighted to promote the powerful and timely work of Lyn McDonell, owner and principle of The Accountability Group. Her Next-Level Governance series represents a much more enlightened approach to governance, fit for the challenges of the twenty-first century.
A Founding Member of the Academy, and a member of our Faculty. Lyn brings wisdom, practical insight, and regenerative thinking to boardrooms and board members across sectors.
In this article, we present Lyn’s Next-Level Governance series as a nine-part journey.
Each short video delivers clear insights and practical steps for boards to evolve from mechanistic compliance machines to adaptive, regenerative stewards of shared value.
1. Organizations as Living Systems
In her inaugural episode, Lyn reframes organizations as living systems, deeply interconnected and embedded in broader ecosystems; social, economic, and environmental. She asserts that modern governance must adapt accordingly, emphasizing vitality, adaptability, and relational health over mechanistic efficiency.
▶ Watch: Evolution of board governance: from machines to living systems
2. Asking Difficult Questions in the Boardroom
Lyn shares techniques for asking challenging questions without creating tension or conflict. Her guidance centers on framing, tone, and intent, encouraging directors to speak with courage, clarity, and diplomacy.
▶ Watch: How to ask difficult questions in the boardroom
3. Gulliver and the Tyranny of Formal Structures
Drawing from Gulliver's Travels, Lyn illustrates how excessive bureaucratic formalism immobilizes organizations. She calls for boards to recognize the informal, creative energies and release them from unnecessary constraints.
▶ Watch: How Gulliver's Travels Shows the Power of Informal Organizations
4. The Three Horizons Framework
Lyn introduces the Three Horizons model, helping boards think simultaneously about present operations (H1), transitional innovation (H2), and future flourishing (H3). This framework helps governance bodies embrace change intentionally.
▶ Watch: How to Talk About the Future with Three Horizons
5. Governance as Gardening
Using the metaphor of a garden, Lyn suggests boards must cultivate the conditions for organizational vitality, through culture, communication, shared purpose, and the empowerment of people.
▶ Watch: How Living Systems Can Guide Governance
6. Silos and Scorecards vs. Systemic Awareness
Here, Lyn challenges siloed thinking and metric-obsession in board governance. She urges boards to zoom out to see the broader system, including ecological, civic, and social contexts that influence organizational success.
▶ Watch: How Boards Can Contribute to Environmental Health
7. Becoming Multicapitalists
Coining the term “multicapitalists,” Lyn invites boards to expand their definition of value to include natural, social, human, spiritual, and cultural capital alongside financial metrics. Governance, she argues, must ensure the replenishment, not depletion, of all capitals.
▶ Watch: Where Are the Multicapitalists?
8. What Boards Actually Do
In this back-to-basics episode, Lyn outlines the three essential domains of board responsibility: leadership, oversight, and accountability. She emphasizes how governance frameworks must evolve to support these roles in a changing world.
▶ Watch: What Does a Board Do? A Beginner's Guide
9. Quality as Relational Culture
Quality, Lyn argues, isn’t a scorecard, it’s relational, cultural, and moral. Drawing from her hospital board experience, she describes how trust, care, and shared purpose underpin the conditions for excellence.
▶ Watch: Quality in Governance: My Experience and Call to Action
Conclusion: Toward Regenerative Board Leadership
Lyn McDonell’s Next-Level Governance series offers an indispensable roadmap for board directors and governance professionals who recognize the inadequacy of business-as-usual in the face of accelerating complexity, ecological fragility, and social upheaval. Her call is clear: governance must evolve.
Stay tuned as Lyn’s series continues with topics such as director competencies, narrative change, and new tools for navigating complexity.
Connect with Lyn on Substack or on LinkedIn
Other Corporate Governance Experts Amongst Our Members
Lyn’s voice joins those of fellow Enlightened Enterprise Academy Founding Members, like Dr. Elliot S. Schreiber, in building a future where enterprise is not only effective, but responsible, life-enhancing, and wise.
We are also proud to count several outstanding corporate governance experts among our Founding Members. Among them is Elliot S. Schreiber, Ph.D., a globally respected authority on reputation and governance strategy. A former C-suite executive, corporate board member, and academic, Dr. Schreiber is the author of The Yin and Yang of Reputation Management, published by Enlightened Enterprise Media. His work challenges companies to balance short-term risk mitigation with long-term value creation, fully aligned with the ethos of enlightened enterprise.