I have been fortunate during my time in local government to have been asked to lead and be part of peer review teams spending short, yet intensive periods of time in local authorities and their places.

Without exception I have left, having been submerged, a wiser person; taking with me some ideas to test back at the ranch.  I also hope I have been able (with managerial and political peers) to leave some useful ideas and guidance.

This peer challenge and exchange has been at the heart of self-improvement in local government. .

However, taking on a new role recently within the West Midlands in leading sector-led improvement for adult social care has got me thinking about the new climate we are facing.

How can we ensure, as a sector, that we identify performance, financial sustainability and quality concerns early; understand them deeply and act decisively with the right level of resourcing and peer support as necessary?

And, after reflecting, what I have been left with is neither new nor surprising; but I believe it is potentially game changing.

Unless we (and by this I mean chief executives, senior managers and senior political leaders) set the tone and give permission for an even greater spirit of openness about the challenges that face us - alongside a balanced view of our capacity and capability to meet them head on - then we will be left only with good intent.

We must work hard and quickly to promote the conditions for a safe environment in which organisational, managerial and political vulnerability can be shared with a naked honesty about not having all the answers and needing help and support early in the diagnosis of the problem.

I acknowledge just how difficult this is when, certainly for chief executives, we harbour a deep-rooted sense and accountability of being judged (quite rightly) for leading our respective organisations confidently, efficiently and effectively.

Overtly airing our ‘dirty linen' is uncomfortable and for many counter-cultural.

So I end where I started, as a firm believer in the power for change of peer challenge and sector-led improvement.  It will, though, only deliver the outcomes we seek through a greater dose of openness, transparency, brutal honesty and shared vulnerability than ever before.

That is the leadership challenge!

Martin Reeves is chief executive, Coventry City Council, and president of Solace