Former marathon man, Michael Lockwood, still manages a daily seven-mile run in his job as chief executive of Harrow LBC, an authority he recently joined from a district council with a brief to turn it round. Michael Burton caught up with him at the civic centre
If turning round a troubled authority is a marathon rather than a sprint, then Michael Lockwood is your man. He is a former champion in the triathlon, a sport which involves a swim for 2.5 miles, followed by a 120-mile bicycle ride, and then a full marathon.
He used to be UK champion, representing the country in the early 1990s, and training consisted of swimming lengths from 6.30am until 8am, running at lunchtime for seven miles, and cycling 40 miles from 7pm to 9pm. Nowadays, his exercise regime is more modest, with a mere seven-mile run at lunchtimes. But then, his day job, as chief executive of the London borough of Harrow, tends to take up most of his long day.
Michael insists that he keeps his lunchtime running routine. ‘I always keep that hour-and-a-quarter free. It keeps a balance in my life and anyway, it’s a good way of getting to know the borough.’
He adds: ‘I’ve got this competitive streak in me. I’ve got stamina and I know that what Harrow wants is to be successful, and my role is to help make that happen. I see this job as a three-year journey.’
Michael joined Harrow last year. His background was unusual for taking on a top job at a London borough in that he had previously been chief executive of a district. He studied geography and history at Hull, then accountancy, and has a CIPFA qualification. He has worked for the National Audit Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Commons, then later at Humberside CC and Kingston upon Thames RBC.
In 1987, he joined PWC on the consultancy and audit side, and moved back into local government at Surrey CC, working on its change agenda.
From there he became director of finance and corporate services for the Surrey district of Elmbridge BC, in 1995, and in 2000, its chief executive.
Explaining his reason for the latest move, he says: ‘I didn’t want to get in a comfort zone. I enjoy the change agenda. Also, I liked the unitary concept. It can be frustrating in a two-tier system.’
He chose Harrow – or rather, the appointment panel chose him, unanimously – which in May 2006, moved to a new Conservative administration, for two main reasons. One was that it posed a challenge with a two-star CPA and only an ‘improving adequately’ verdict, plus a backlog of financial problems. The previous chief executive departed 18 months previously, after a long dispute, and the council needed leadership.
The second reason was that the members and staff ‘were ambitious’ and wanted change. ‘They didn’t want to carry on as they were,’ says Michael. ‘There was a lot I could value-add, to get the council back on the map, and help residents’ quality of life. I moved Elmbridge from one of the worst to one of the best in the country, with an excellent CPA and 18 Charter Marks, and I’m proud of that achievement. I want to do the same for Harrow.’
Indeed, the local newspaper even greeted him with the epithet, ‘the turnaround king’.
He frankly admits that change will not happen overnight. ‘I still get frustrated that things take too long in local government,’ he says.
‘There’s evidence of what I call “obstacle culture”, with people finding lots of reasons for not doing something, rather than one reason why they can. I have to manage expectations, since change won’t happen overnight. It’ll take 12 months to get the bad news out the system but, overall, we’re making good progress.’
He says he won’t be successful ‘until the staff are behind me’, and backs up his message to employees with a monthly chief executive’s lunch, with 20 staff picked at random from the 6,800-strong workforce, including 230 middle managers.
Twice a year, he and the leader, Chris Mote, also organise six forums for staff.
Externally, the new administration also instituted a series of public ‘question time’ meetings, in which residents can turn up and put any questions to the cabinet. The fifth such forum took place this week.
Michael has outlined his strategy in a nine-point plan covering vision and priorities, organisation, finance, investment in people, work-life balance, performance management, organisational culture, communications and first impressions (customer access).
A recent IDeA peer review was a great boost for the council, when it praised it for strong leadership and quality services. He is also expanding his senior team by hiring two new divisional directors – one for environmental services and one for planning – on the not-inconsiderable salary of up to £105,000 (see The MJ Jobs).
Sport remains important for Michael, and perhaps it is just as well he maintains his fitness regime. For, as a councillor said in a Christmas card he sent him last month, ‘Remember this job is equal to three marathons.’
He used to be UK champion, representing the country in the early 1990s, and training consisted of swimming lengths from 6.30am until 8am, running at lunchtime for seven miles, and cycling 40 miles from 7pm to 9pm. Nowadays, his exercise regime is more modest, with a mere seven-mile run at lunchtimes. But then, his day job, as chief executive of the London borough of Harrow, tends to take up most of his long day.
Michael insists that he keeps his lunchtime running routine. ‘I always keep that hour-and-a-quarter free. It keeps a balance in my life and anyway, it’s a good way of getting to know the borough.’
He adds: ‘I’ve got this competitive streak in me. I’ve got stamina and I know that what Harrow wants is to be successful, and my role is to help make that happen. I see this job as a three-year journey.’
Michael joined Harrow last year. His background was unusual for taking on a top job at a London borough in that he had previously been chief executive of a district. He studied geography and history at Hull, then accountancy, and has a CIPFA qualification. He has worked for the National Audit Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Commons, then later at Humberside CC and Kingston upon Thames RBC.
In 1987, he joined PWC on the consultancy and audit side, and moved back into local government at Surrey CC, working on its change agenda.
From there he became director of finance and corporate services for the Surrey district of Elmbridge BC, in 1995, and in 2000, its chief executive.
Explaining his reason for the latest move, he says: ‘I didn’t want to get in a comfort zone. I enjoy the change agenda. Also, I liked the unitary concept. It can be frustrating in a two-tier system.’
He chose Harrow – or rather, the appointment panel chose him, unanimously – which in May 2006, moved to a new Conservative administration, for two main reasons. One was that it posed a challenge with a two-star CPA and only an ‘improving adequately’ verdict, plus a backlog of financial problems. The previous chief executive departed 18 months previously, after a long dispute, and the council needed leadership.
The second reason was that the members and staff ‘were ambitious’ and wanted change. ‘They didn’t want to carry on as they were,’ says Michael. ‘There was a lot I could value-add, to get the council back on the map, and help residents’ quality of life. I moved Elmbridge from one of the worst to one of the best in the country, with an excellent CPA and 18 Charter Marks, and I’m proud of that achievement. I want to do the same for Harrow.’
Indeed, the local newspaper even greeted him with the epithet, ‘the turnaround king’.
He frankly admits that change will not happen overnight. ‘I still get frustrated that things take too long in local government,’ he says.
‘There’s evidence of what I call “obstacle culture”, with people finding lots of reasons for not doing something, rather than one reason why they can. I have to manage expectations, since change won’t happen overnight. It’ll take 12 months to get the bad news out the system but, overall, we’re making good progress.’
He says he won’t be successful ‘until the staff are behind me’, and backs up his message to employees with a monthly chief executive’s lunch, with 20 staff picked at random from the 6,800-strong workforce, including 230 middle managers.
Twice a year, he and the leader, Chris Mote, also organise six forums for staff.
Externally, the new administration also instituted a series of public ‘question time’ meetings, in which residents can turn up and put any questions to the cabinet. The fifth such forum took place this week.
Michael has outlined his strategy in a nine-point plan covering vision and priorities, organisation, finance, investment in people, work-life balance, performance management, organisational culture, communications and first impressions (customer access).
A recent IDeA peer review was a great boost for the council, when it praised it for strong leadership and quality services. He is also expanding his senior team by hiring two new divisional directors – one for environmental services and one for planning – on the not-inconsiderable salary of up to £105,000 (see The MJ Jobs).
Sport remains important for Michael, and perhaps it is just as well he maintains his fitness regime. For, as a councillor said in a Christmas card he sent him last month, ‘Remember this job is equal to three marathons.’
