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For many people, the art of leadership is best summed up by a quote from Michael Caine's character in the movie, The Italian Job – and no, it's not ‘You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!' ‘It's a very difficult job and the only way to get through it is we all work together as a team. And that means you do everything I say,' says Charlie Croker, shortly before the gold bullion is whisked away through Turin in a fleet of Mini Coopers. While some organisations may enjoy the ethos of the self-preservation society, others are taking a more progressive approach to leadership. Bromley LBC, which was awarded the much-coveted four-star CPA rating earlier this year, has been running an ongoing behavioural-change programme with private consultant Hay Group to develop the leadership abilities of the senior management team. Former chief executive, David Bartlett, said the roots of the programme went back to when he became the borough's top officer, in January 2000. Mr Bartlett says he wanted the council to concentrate on ‘technology, processes and people' to help meet the Government's agenda of joined-up services. ‘I started talking to staff about building a better Bromley,' he tells The MJ. ‘People were expecting local authorities to do more. I didn't think we were addressing issues. We were delivering services.' So, Mr Bartlett commissioned the Hay Group to design a series of leadership programmes for the council's top 70 officers, including him. ‘It seemed to me that we couldn't create cultural change unless we won the hearts and minds of the people involved,' he adds. ‘A lot of the leadership programme was about understanding the importance of the team, and the individual. It was getting people to become more self-aware.' The programme was executed over 18 months, with other staff rating the top officers' emotional intelligence, competencies and leadership styles in questionnaires and interviews. The whole course was designed by Zoe Gruhn, director of executive coaching at Hay Group. ‘Hearing what colleagues really think about you can be an uncomfortable, and a somewhat sobering experience,' she says. ‘However, without going through this process, diagnosing areas for improvement can prove problematic, leaving stones unturned, and the root of the problem unearthed.' One of the managers who took part in the programme adds, anonymously: ‘It wasn't easy hearing how people felt about the way in which I managed them, but using this feedback to identify weak spots and put in place actions to improve had a huge impact.' Mr Bartlett says some senior managers had to learn how to ‘let go'. ‘Out of it came a stronger team,' he adds. ‘People were prepared to accept some of their faults and work with others.' He adds that the programme helped create an awareness of working behaviours which were standing in the way of the council's objectives and build towards the borough's improved CPA rating. ‘Our improvement on last year's performance rating is largely due to a step change in the way we focus on and develop our leadership team. ‘Working with Hay Group on the programme has been a unique learning process – one that has had a positive impact on our ability to perform now and into the future,' says Mr Bartlett. The renewed focus also puts the spotlight back on the importance of the chief executive's role. ‘When I was considering becoming a chief executive, my predecessor said people had to be really passionate about doing what they did,' adds Mr Bartlett. ‘As a chief executive, one has to add value to one's leadership, to one's vision and to one's passion.'

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WHITEHALL

Dream team

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