Each generation has challenges to overcome. Our generation is no different. As we head into the Solace Wales conference this week, we can't help but reflect on what a time it is to be a public service leader.
We arrive on the back of a General Election that still feels quite near in the rear-view mirror with a range of legislation working its way through, some of which talks to Wales, some not.
We have a Senedd Election just over a year away. The chamber will grow to 96 from 60 and it will be returned on proportional representation for the very first time. The chances of a majority Welsh Government are slim so politicians will need to tune their skills on consensus and alliance building if they hope to advance their programmes.
As leaders we have a choice. We can stare at our toes and shuffle around or we can raise our heads and look forward with optimism
There will be new challenges for the Welsh senior civil service in here as well.
At a local and increasingly regional level, the services provided by our respective organisations have never been more important, but the context in which they are provided is increasingly challenging and constantly changing – increasing need and demand for key services in education, social care and housing results in significant pressure on budgets and staff resources.
We continue to operate in a cost of living crisis and our ability to respond and support those in our communities who need our help is continually tested. But while we may work in challenging times, the rewards are great, and achievements should be recognised and celebrated. Our work makes a real difference and is a force for good – no other organisation provides the vast array of services that are delivered by local councils. Our reach and impact should never be underestimated.
In this context, for us to flourish we must continue to adapt, both as individuals and as organisations. We are constantly changing the way we work and must continue to do so. We need to be ambitious in our approach, be open to new ideas and innovative ways of working, forging new partnerships and collaborations and crucially, willing to learn from each other, our peers and networks – both current and new. While it is only right we consider the challenges that exist, our energy has to be focused on the future and the opportunities that lie ahead so we can continue to deliver for our local communities.
Many will be building their budgets for the year ahead and we don't hear anyone pretending that it is a breeze. Councils with ambitious programmes are having to ask themselves yet again ‘what really matters?' and ‘what do I have to let go?'. We see public service institutions all around us in strife; our health boards are struggling, our universities are shedding cost and people, and we are making little progress on redesigning a social care system that can manage today – let alone what's to come over the next decade.
As leaders we have a choice. We can stare at our toes and shuffle around or we can raise our heads and look forward with optimism.
The conference will be looking out, not down. Solace Wales gives us the rare chance to come together as practitioners with thousands of years of experience between us, and as well as hearing from a line-up of impressive speakers and contributors, this conference will provide us with the opportunity to reflect and consider how we can work collectively – and within Solace – to ensure local government has a strong voice in order to influence and inform debate and policy across Wales.
It is a place where your voice matters, peers are interested in your ideas, you can learn new things and you can grow your network. Do not attend and merely spend your time sitting with people you know well, Get up and try to meet new people and have different conversations.
Public service is a vocational calling, it's who we are and what we do. The organisations we lead are in a permanent state of transition, and that's why we crave agility and adaptability. It falls to us to model these characteristics.
So, arrive with an open mind and a willingness to learn. Leave negative thinking for others. There will be a golden nugget for you somewhere at the conference – your task is to dig it out, take it back to the ranch and apply it.
Paul Matthews is chief executive of Monmouthshire CC and Rob Thomas is chief executive of Vale of Glamorgan Council
The Solace Wales conference takes place 13-14 February at Hilton Cardiff Hotel
