The Gardener of Governance 52-week Series - Bhavani Jois | Executive and Leadership Coach | Mental Fitness | The Evolving Way

Cultivating trust, purpose, and resilience in the soil of governance.

Nurturing Governance through the Garden of
People
Public
Performance
Purpose
Planet

Cultivating trust, purpose, and resilience in the soil of governance

The Gardener of Governance

A 52-week reflection series reimagining auditors as gardeners
who help ethics, culture, and accountability take root and thrive.

The Gardener of Governance: 52 Seeds of Insight

This series is inspired by the metaphor The Gardener of Governance™(Lenz, 2021), the article “The Future of Internal Auditing: Gardener of Governance” (Lenz & Jeppesen, 2022) and the book “The Gardener of Governance – A Call to Action for Effective Internal Auditing” (Lenz, R. and Enslin, B., 2025), both offering a visionary reimagining of internal auditors as gardeners who nurture culture and systems where ethics, sustainability, and meaningful accountability can grow.

Each week, I explore one metaphor from the gardener’s world and reflect on its relevance for internal audit, leadership, and governance.

This series also reflects the spirit of The Evolving Auditor, a movement rooted in coaching that seeks to elevate the human spirit behind the profession and develop the mindsets and skills needed for thriving organizations and thriving professionals.

This page is a living collection, updated weekly, where you can find all posts in one place.

You are invited to read, reflect and share these ideas as seeds for conversation and change.

Cultivating Governance: Week-by-Week Reflections

Week 1 - Planting the Seeds of Trust

Trust is the soil in which everything meaningful takes root. Without it, even the most rigorous audit becomes a transaction rather than a conversation.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 2 - The Soil of Culture

Culture is the unseen layer that shapes how everything grows. Auditors who nurture soil, not just measure plants, support long-term health.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 3 - Watering with Wisdom

Listening is the water that nourishes trust. When we slow down to hear fully, audit conversations shift from extractive to generative.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 4 - Weeding Out Subtle Risks

Some risks hide in silence — burnout masked as commitment, groupthink as consensus. Naming them with care turns hidden tension into space for renewal.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 5 - Composting Failures into Learning

Failure, like decay, can nourish growth. When reflected on with curiosity, it strengthens the system with wisdom, not just compliance.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 6 - Agility Through the Seasons

True agility follows natural rhythms. Knowing when to act and when to pause makes growth sustainable.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 7 - Photosynthesis of Purpose

Purpose is the light that fuels energy and growth. When auditors and teams connect back to their “why,” work regains meaning and resilience.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 8: Earthkeeping - Auditing for the Planet

Auditors are stewards of more than compliance. By widening our lens to ecological impact, we help governance serve both performance and the planet.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 9: Beyond the Fence - Public Trust

Audit’s influence depends on perception. When stakeholders see audit as a partner in stewardship rather than just compliance, trust deepens and impact grows.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 10: Polinators of Governance

Cross-functional conversations spread ideas like pollinators in a garden. For auditors, they are vital to building trust and embedding ethical governance.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 11: Patience in the Profession

Audit’s true impact is seen over time. Patience allows change to take root, turning quick fixes into sustainable solutions.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 12: Tending to the Margins

Risks often hide in the quiet corners — the informal practices and cultural undercurrents. Paying attention to these margins strengthens governance at its roots.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 13: The Climate of Courage in Internal Audit

Courage shapes the climate of governance. When auditors ask hard questions with respect, it becomes safe to speak up, listen deeply, and surface truths that would otherwise remain hidden.
🔗 Read the full reflection here

Week 14: Thorns and Roses: Feedback as a Growth Tool

Feedback, like roses, carries both beauty and thorns. When offered with empathy and balance, it strengthens trust, deepens learning, and helps governance grow stronger rather than defensive.
🔗 Read the full reflection here