Management
Robots and Risk – what could possibly go wrong?
David Forster says that while remarkable 4th Industrial Revolution projects offer opportunities to reshape service provision, managing risk in the age of machines will be the next big challenge for risk managers and heads of governance.
Searching locally for the antidote to populism
How can local government leaders help cohesive communities to flourish in a time of growing populism and in the middle of a central political and policy vacuum? Ann McGauran reports
Still the right person for the job
Blair McPherson outlines the virtues of staying put, of resilience, and of not playing the blame game.
Call for leader to quit after 'repeated failures'
Shadow local government secretary Andrew Gwynne has called for Northamptonshire CC leader, Matt Golby, to quit after ‘repeated failures’ in the council’s children’s services.
We need to change how we deliver change
Mike Gibson of Ethical Consulting asks: Why waste valuable resources on consultancy when surely we should develop new and valuable skills which we can draw on when needed?
Striking the right balance
Emmet Regan explores how leaders must take a balanced approach to solve complex public service problems and improve outcomes.
Turning around the turnover problem
The average length of tenure for directors of children’s services is four years. Lucy Butler asks why they stay in the sector for such a short time and if anything can be done to stem the flow of losses.
Letting teams redesign their own way to success
Adele Taylor says the impressive results of a LEAN approach to eliminating waste show that involving the very people who undertake tasks in redesigning a process means they are more invested in making it work.
Highland Council to implement new senior management stucture
A new senior management structure at Highland Council will be implemented by the end of the year.
'Slow progress' two years after inadequate judgement
Gloucestershire CC is making ‘slow progress’ in improving its services for its children and young people two years after it was judged inadequate, Ofsted has found.
Don’t be afraid to jump in the deep end
Donna Hall maintains that if we are serious about bringing about positive change we need to work out how our own behaviours influence the culture of an organisation or a team.
21st century leadership, technology and climate change
A number of councils in the UK have declared a climate change emergency. Max Wide says that while better technologies will help, what’s really needed to change behaviour is ‘bold, artful and technologically aware leadership’
Do no evil
Defining integrity is easy, says Blair Mcpherson. The difficult part is applying it in a complex political environment such as local government.
Elvery: Improving children's outcomes is top priority after Ofsted blow
West Sussex CC’s boss Nathan Elvery has said improving outcomes for the most vulnerable children is the council’s ‘top priority’ after Ofsted rated services inadequate.
Brighton claims there's no grounds for bin strike
Brighton & Hove City Council has insisted strike action is 'unwarranted' as a union threatens to hold an industrial action ballot.
A ‘genuine joy’ for local government
Amanda Deeks is retiring from her chief executive role at South Gloucestershire Council. She says setting a culture is about listening to and respecting others – and she believes this has helped to create an environment where women have thrived.
The importance of team bonds
Tracie Evans ponders the challenge of managing multiple contracted companies working on a single programme. She concludes that KPIs are important to success, but making sure the client makes time for collaborative work is even more crucial.
Tackling tricky social issues in the SameRoom
Alex Bailey outlines how Adur DC and Worthing BC use the platform of good systems leaders and robust, low-code applications-building to achieve new solutions to long-standing local problems.
A day in the life
Staff from district councils put their future leadership talents to the test during this year’s District Councils’ Network Leadership Challenge Day. Ann McGauran reports on the highlights.
What a good manager looks like
Assessing the effectiveness of senior managers is not as simple as examining their track record, according to Blair Mcpherson. How do you separate out the effects of available resources, inherited talent, local circumstances, quality of the board and luck?