Blair McPherson
What have you done for me lately?
It’s hardly surprising that councillors are keen to not want the opposition to take unjustified credit for what the local authority has done for the public, says Blair Mcpherson.
How teams react when their manager is doomed
Blair Mcpherson ponders the case of a team's delicate balancing act between 'recognising the need to ingratiate yourself with the chief executive and not being too disloyal to a boss who has been good to you'.
Bringing on the bad news
Councillors have stopped worrying about unpopular decisions and probably to the surprise of many this has not led to a revolt at the polls, says Blair Mcpherson.
An artificial business solution
Blair Mcpherson says that if organisations are driven by cost and efficiency they will be led by AI, but if they are driven by values and ethics they will be led by humans.
Losing the confidence of members
It’s crucial for managers to keep the confidence of members, says Blair McPherson. ‘But the trouble is they are increasingly reliant on the information they’re fed by their bosses.’
Time is not on the side of chief executives who need to prove themselves
Blair Mcpherson looks at how long chief executives have to prove themselves before a lack of progress creates doubts about their ability to deliver.
Management melodrama dents organisational credibility
Bosses who have difficulty making decisions and whose approach is best described as tactical cause ‘confusion, frustration and outright embarrassment’, says Blair Mcpherson
Why is central government not listening?
The pandemic has given local authorities the opportunity to shine and demonstrate to government that we can work effectively together, argues Blair Mcpherson.
Insiders only
Blair Mcpherson explains why he believes business sector high flyers decide local government is not for them.
Be a dictator but be a nice one
In difficult and uncertain times clarity and direction assume a greater importance and people management skills never go out of fashion, says Blair Mcpherson.
Officers work for members – or do they?
Blair McPherson says his old boss was right to remind officers that they work for members - ‘but I’m sure most members would agree it’s not that simple’.
Sorry is the hardest word
For the sake of the organisation sometimes you just have to swallow your pride, accept the criticism, and say and do what is expected, according to Blair McPherson.
The difficulty with hired guns
Independence and credibility are not the only factors to the fore when deciding whether to use management consultants, says Blair McPherson.
Good news for the nice
When it comes to climbing the corporate career ladder being nasty or nice won’t determine your advancement, says Blair McPherson.
To the moon and back
The model for getting a man on the moon is a good one for the post COVID world of local government, even if councils don’t have the same open-ended budget, says Blair McPherson.
We have been here before on cohesion and diversity
Blair McPherson says the only thing more detrimental to the causes of cohesion and diversity than doing nothing is doing a little and thinking it’s enough.
The best managers are misfits and weirdos
Organisations with a higher tolerance of misfits and weirdos will benefit from their creativity, innovation, energy and enthusiasm, says Blair Mcpherson - and we also need dreamers, visionaries and revolutionaries.
It’s all part of the myth
Blair Mcpherson rejects the stereotype of an old-fashioned local authority chief executive of 20 years ago’ perpetuated by an unnamed special advisor.
Is it too early to discuss the exit strategy and local recovery plans?
Blair Mcpherson says that for the COVID-19 recovery plan to be successful politicians will need to look again at the balance between local government and central government – and digging out the Lyons report might be a good starting point.
Who you gonna call
If an urgent problem emerges at a local authority, whose call should a senior director return first, asks Blair Mcpherson.
