The world of work has been constantly changing for years, local government roles being no exception with the implementation of technology, different ways of working and restructuring work. But perhaps one area that lags behind is leadership development and how to support leaders. Whether someone has been identified in a succession plan, expressed interest in promotion or finds themselves newly promoted there can be a lack of support to transition to the leadership role.
Three years ago Commercial Services Group worked with Steven Griggs, professor of public policy at the University of Staffordshire, to better understand the challenges for local government and our research identified three pillars of modern leadership not typically addressed.
These are now the core of our Local Government Executive Leadership Programme now entering its fourth year in 2025.
Resilience
Local government experiences the same issues as the private sector in seeing lost productivity due to ill-health. Dr Dorian Dugmore, a leading wellness expert, is one of our guest speakers on the programme and he is clear that helping people address wellness and personal resilience leads to healthier individuals who take less time off.
Let's be honest, there can be a badge of honour in working long hours, not taking breaks or holidays – a machismo if you will. People at work are a captive audience and growing evidence is showing a return on investment in wellbeing at work. The adage ‘apply your safety mask before helping others' has never been truer than for leaders.
Leaders can set the example that self-care is important by taking time off, not working long hours, thereby encouraging staff to spot the signs of burnout themselves and avoid long term sickness.
Collaboration
Working well together and building high performing teams is about having emotional intelligence and understanding team dynamics.
Professor Helen Sullivan, from the Australian National University, leads a session on understanding the difference between leading and participating in collaboration. As learning by doing is a central part of our programme the group work is an important part of the experience; the most powerful of which is to work on real life scenarios that the attendees bring with them.
It provides an opportunity not only to tackle something outside of the working environment but to tap into the thinking of the other members of the group – a bit of free consultancy. But there is a pragmatism too, decisions must be made and direction set – after all this is what leaders do.
Insightful thinking
Cutting budgets, trying to get people to do more with less has already met its limits. But there are many dimensions to thinking differently.
A highlight of the programme is a creativity session hosted by Kirk Vallis, Google's global head of creativity, who shares examples and tools to help increase creative thinking. The aim is to find new ways to tackle old challenges. Perhaps you could set some time aside to revisit a problem and explore alternative solutions?
And it's possible to combine creative thinking with wellbeing. Stanford research found walking boosted creative inspiration so why not go for a walk? Well maybe after finishing this article.
Sharing experiences with other leaders from across the public sector is also powerful and we have built in fireside chats with other chief executives past and present. Too often there isn't time for these types of exchanges in the busyness of everyday life, these are therefore rare opportunities to understand how a leader in another organisation goes about their job.
Next time you're in discussion with a fellow leader perhaps take the opportunity to not only ask them how they are but also how they work.
The feedback we have received has reinforced our intention that this is not another management course and that much of the benefit comes from engaging with peers, sharing experiences and insights that help with problem solving. Both the individual and the organisation benefit.
There are small steps you can take today to help your wellbeing, be more creative and collaborative, but you could consider investing in a rare opportunity to step out of the day job. More than 30 senior leaders from local government have already benefited, why not join them?
Steve Wilson is commercial director at Commercial Services Group
