Nonprofit Governance: A non-legalistic definition

The word governance "derives from the Greek verb κυβερνάω [kubernάo] which means to steer and was used for the first time in a metaphorical sense by Plato" (You can find this in Wikipedia which got it from the European Commission).

So, based on this definition, thinking about governance in terms of the legalistic and most frequently referred to term of fiduciary (duties of care, loyalty and obedience) limits the real added value of good governance.  Using this definition, good governance then is about either "keeping the nonprofit from running amok" (kind-of the risk-reduction context) or ensuring that the end goal is clear and that the nonprofit stays on the intended course.