I came to work at Swindon BC because what we do feels like honest work.  We are here to make a difference to people's lives on a daily basis.

That is what I said in my first briefing session to staff after joining the world of local government and Swindon Borough Council (SBC) as a corporate director 10 years ago.

Life before SBC involved 20 years in a variety of commercial organisations, and most of my life was spent either living or working, (or both) in Swindon.

I am unapologetically proud to be associated with a town that is often underestimated, sometimes maligned, and yet one that continues to develop and provide a great place for a growing number of people to live and work in.

Along with a broad range of skills and a lot of energy, I am prepared to admit that when joining SBC I also brought with me a degree of arrogance, believing that my commercial background experience was all that was needed to turn around, what was at the time, a struggling council.

I also brought with me a degree of prejudice, perhaps informed by the often less-than-objective media, that the public sector was full of inefficiency, lacked focus and didn't have the right people working in it.

This prejudice was challenged from the moment I walked through the door.  While the whole sector has undergone huge, and necessary change, I can say without question that I have met and worked with some of the most amazing, creative and dedicated people.

Sir Mike Pitt, former chief executive of Kent CC, was my early mentor at SBC.

It was Mike who taught me that as a CEO your work starts with, and must always be rooted in, people and place.

The organisation exists only to serve the best interests of the people you serve. It troubles me that much of the current ‘transformation' debate within the sector is too inward-focused on the nuts and bolts

There is still not enough reference to real people, their lives, families and environment and how the council of the future works with rather than delivers to.

Alongside this, too much political debate still seems to be centred on how to maintain current services at all costs, without enough enquiry as to whether those current services actually provide positive outcomes.

I'm not alone in believing the solutions to highly complex societal problems exist not through a central/ local debate alone but by the two working together, inclusively with residents and service users.

The last 10 years have been the most challenging, yet rewarding of my career. I have learned more than I ever could have imagined and believe my understanding of the real value and attributes of public service and public sector leadership continues to grow and adapt.

The next 10 years will see local government face a myriad of complex challenges.

It will need serious people doing serious work, driven by an overriding desire to make a difference to the people and places they serve.  I count myself fortunate to be one of those people.

I believe it was Albert Einstein who said – ‘The more I learn, the more I realise I don't know.'  I'd go along with that.