27 April 2010

Welcome to the new world


Daniel Goodwin

The election period is an opportunity for chief executives to seriously think about their strategic roles in the forthcoming Total Place era, says Daniel Goodwin.

We’re all busy preparing for the elections and watching out for unsuitable activity in the ‘purdah’ period – but what else should council chief executives and other key employees be thinking about as a general election approaches? Much has been made recently of matters relating to salaries, roles and termination settlements, and some fairly firm stances have been taken up.

However, I believe that defensive flitting around this particular spotlight could lead to doom rather than illumination, if we do not answer legitimate questions posed by the public and politicians.

For example, what happens about the top employee roles if there is a concerted move towards elected mayors? What are the implications of the Total Place agenda for public leadership? And is the approach taken by the Scottish chief executives to freeze their salaries the right one?

We all need to think strategically about the stance we take in relation to these issues, and once a position has been taken, what should we do next?

Whatever the make-up of the forthcoming government, there is a clear need to drive change and refresh the top local government roles. The papers on Total Place from CLG, New Local Government Network and Kent CC, and the Audit Commission report By mutual agreement show that a new settlement for public sector leadership is urgently needed, which is likely to result in adjustments in the types and numbers of leading roles.

Yet there is not much debate about how the change to a new leadership environment might be made by local government chief executives and others in the top team.

Previously-accepted notions of the chief executive role now look outdated after almost 10 years of cabinet-based local government and with the introduction of elected mayors. The relationship is increasingly one of active dialogue, and sometimes tension between the aspirations of local politicians, national guidance and top management advice.

The model for leadership is changing rapidly, simultaneously becoming more politicised, less bureaucratic and crossing sector boundaries. There is a burning need for such a model to exemplify effective political brokering, strategic management which sidesteps silos, and high-quality operational leadership of the staff team.

Emerging local government leadership models and the impact of Total Place on the public sector have separately been regular subjects of discussion, but there has, to date, been little about the future shape of public service leadership. This is a mistake, because what is clearly lacking in the public sector is a coherent offer describing how its top people fit into the new world.

Without this, there will be a natural tendency to preserve positions and reluctance to assist change. A clear and relatively-simple description is urgently needed, because if public services are to thrive, the identification, and development of this new leadership being needs to start right now.

The new roles in leadership of place must be attractive to talented people who see a future in them, from almost any sector. Those of us already some way through our careers need to think about adaptation, and not being too precious about perceived status associated with past roles and job titles.

Whatever they are called, I believe the forthcoming roles of leading public servants need clearer definition to enable future incumbents to visualise, understand and play their part in the new frameworks as they emerge.

Such a settlement needs to consider the various roles of politicians and employees in executing the policy, strategic, operational and scrutiny needs of partnership groupings of organisations. This could provide a very new environment. If we accept that a new animal needs to evolve, we must discuss the characteristics necessary for its survival.

Daniel Goodwin is chief executive, St Albans City and DC





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