Leadership Behaviour is the Primary Determinant of Governance Success in Organisations, Says ISO Governance Expert Eze Anthony Jude

By Korede Omololu-David

Governance and quality management specialist Eze Anthony Jude, a Chartered Quality Professional (CQP MCQI) with the Chartered Quality Institute (UK), Internationally certified IRCA Principal Auditor in ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems, and a professional member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ), has asserted that leadership behaviour remains the single strongest determinant of whether organizations achieve sustainable governance effectiveness. Drawing from years of consulting and auditing across industries, Jude maintains that governance failures typically reflect weaknesses in leadership behaviour rather than shortcomings in documentation.

Jude noted that organizations often underestimate how deeply leadership culture shapes governance maturity. He stated that the principles of ISO management system standards, particularly the leadership responsibilities outlined in ISO 9001 Clause 5, establish leadership accountability as the foundation of effective governance. According to him, many organisations mistakenly view governance as a collection of documents, yet the true drivers of governance performance are the visible decisions, priorities, and behaviours modelled by senior leadership.

“Policies and procedures are tools,” Jude said. “They support governance but do not replace it. When leaders treat governance as paperwork, systems become mechanical and eventually fail. Real governance is behavioural, it is leadership in action, expressed through direction, communication, ownership, and the willingness to model accountability.”
With more than a decade spent leading governance, quality, and organizational transformation projects in industries including energy, engineering, marine operations, logistics, technology, construction, and finance, Jude has repeatedly observed that organizations with strong leadership behaviour consistently outperform those whose governance structures rely solely on documented frameworks. He explained that governance-weak organizations tend to show predictable symptoms: unclear roles, inconsistent decisions, fragmented workflows, and reactive risk management. These symptoms, he said, indicate poor alignment between leadership behaviour and organizational expectations, which leads to governance instability.

“You can build sophisticated governance frameworks, adopt global standards, or invest in digital tools, but without disciplined leadership, everything deteriorates,” Jude stated. “In governance, leadership is the engine. Documentation supports the system, but leadership drives it.”

Jude added that as African organizations become more integrated into international markets, global expectations around transparency, accountability, and evidence-based leadership have intensified. ISO governance principles reinforce these expectations by emphasizing leadership commitment, clarity of direction, strategic alignment, and the creation of a culture of accountability. These factors, he said, now serve as competitive advantages for organizations seeking long-term stability and stakeholder trust.

“Competitiveness today is anchored on governance,” Jude concluded. “Organizations that invest in leadership behaviour and model accountability will always achieve stronger, more reliable, and more sustainable performance.”
As discussions on governance maturity, risk-based thinking, leadership accountability, and organisational resilience continue to grow globally, Jude’s insights contribute to an expanding body of professional commentary shaping the future of governance systems in Africa and beyond.

About the Expert

Eze Anthony Jude is a Chartered Quality Professional (CQP MCQI), IRCA Principal Auditor, and member of the American Society for Quality. As Lead Consultant at Bientech Consults Limited, he has directed major ISO programmes spanning quality, environment, occupational health and safety, information security, privacy, business continuity, and food safety. He is also the developer of the Jude Compliance Maturity Framework (JCMF), an innovative governance model that enhances organisational maturity and strengthens compliance culture.