LETTER TO THE EDITOR
By Aina Aliieva
22 June 2026
Ref: June 2026 PM World Journal Contents
Dear David,
Thank you for another excellent edition.
As I worked my way through the table of contents, I found myself smiling.
For the last few years, PMOs have been rebranding themselves as strategic partners, transformation offices, value offices, and enablers of organizational change.
Yet this issue seems to tell a slightly different story.
Across papers on AI, cybersecurity, stakeholder alignment, risk, PMO evolution, organizational systems, and large-scale delivery, I kept encountering the same underlying theme.
Governance.
Sometimes explicitly. More often indirectly.
It made me wonder whether the profession is gradually rediscovering its roots through a reinterpretation of governance for a world shaped by AI, complexity, and increasingly interconnected organizations.
Historically, governance was associated with one of the most fundamental responsibilities of any institution: governing. Whether in government, the military, or large organizations, governance represented the structures, disciplines, and mechanisms through which direction was established, resources were coordinated, and collective action became possible.
Over time, however, the term gradually lost much of its prestige. In many organizations, governance became synonymous with bureaucracy, committees, approvals, and administrative overhead. Attention shifted toward newer and more fashionable disciplines such as strategy, transformation, innovation, agility, and enablement.
Yet reading this issue, I was struck by the extent to which these ideas are not alternatives to governance; they are expressions of it. Historically, effective governance was the mechanism through which institutions advanced. It established direction, aligned resources, enabled execution, removed barriers, and ensured that effort was translated into meaningful outcomes.
More…
To read entire Letter to the Editor, click here
How to cite this work: Aliieva, A. (2026). On Governance and the June PMWJ contents, Letter to the Editor, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue VII, July. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/pmwj166-Jul2026-Aliieva-On-Governance-Letter-to-Editor-1.pdf
