Developing good leaders of the future is a key challenge for all organisations. And this has been particularly true for local government for the last 20 years or so.
It is a very competitive market out there, and recruiting or retaining the crème-de-la-crème – whether this be graduate entrants or established managers – is far from easy.
We are, after all, competing with the best in the private sector as well as public agencies. In my view, the smaller the organisation, the more challenging it is to be successful in this regard, so district councils are, on the face of it, at a bit of a disadvantage.
It is to local government's credit that in recent years we have started to turn the tide. A number of councils have launched management trainee schemes and the IDeA (Improvement Development Agency) has created a number of important, practical leadership development initiatives.
Local government's positive steps would be supported by the latest research in Harvard Business Review, where Peter Cappelli outlines four key drivers for organisations to embrace management development:
As I said, on the face of it, recruiting and retaining top performers is particularly challenging for small districts. However, on the flip side, we can portray it as a chance for high flyers to pick up a chief officer post relatively early in their career.
Finally, there is the issue of executive pay, which, as we all know, is a hot topic of debate. But, it is unrealistic for organisation to expect to be able to recruit and retain top performers unless they are going to create a competitive pay structure.
This, in turn, requires organisations to have the self-confidence to withstand siren calls regarding executive pay. After all, you get what you pay for in life, and local authorities are no different in that regard.
Bill Taylor is chief executive of West Lancashire DC
