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How often do you hear the One-Team mantra? Probably more often than the reality warrants. Maybe that's because most of us recognise the huge benefits for the ‘customer' that this approach can bring, but in reality, it's really difficult to achieve. We've been striving to apply a ‘one-team' approach now for a few years, and we're improving all the time. We now have staff thinking ‘council' rather than ‘department', and applying that thinking to their dealings with ‘customers' and communities. I strongly believe that such cultural changes have underpinned our many service improvements at Fenland. However, another critical success factor for us has been the way we have taken the one-team concept and applied it to span the traditional Member/Officer ‘divide'. There has been much discussion in the local government press about the importance of the relationships between senior officers and Members. I accept that sometimes those high level relationships cannot work because of the personalities involved, but I believe there are ways in which senior teams can mitigate against this. Over the last few years at Fenland, we have developed a very effective way of working together - senior officers and politicians as one team. Much of this depends on building a mutual trust, and much of that depends on clarity of respective roles. At Fenland, we talk of different arenas in which different people are active: the officer arena, the member arena and a shared arena. I recognise this might sound a bit simplistic, but often it's the simple things that work! Our senior team has recognised the importance of role clarity from day one, and both the Leader and myself hold that principle dear. There are obviously times when officers and Members are all active in the shared arena – that's where we discuss strategies and agree the agenda for the council. But how many times do you see an officer that wants to be a politician or, conversely, a politician who wants to be a manager?! If this is the case, then such members should apply for a job and such officers should stand for election, because the two don't mix! I know this might seem like a basic principle, but if it is to be effective it needs to be managed by both Leader and Chief Executive. It is a principle that has been fundamental to our success at Fenland, and one that gives me confidence in using the one-team mantra and knowing that it applies not only to the organisation, but to the whole Council. Tim Pilsbury is chief executive of Fenland District Council

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WHITEHALL

District View

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