They say a week is a long time in politics but one month on from the May local elections, many authorities are still in the early days of bedding in the new leadership relationships which will shape the way they deliver over the next few years.
New Administrations, new combinations of parties and, in some authorities, entirely new groups of elected members are now responsible for setting priorities and delivering on the promises made to their communities.
A great deal has already been written about what these changes mean politically. For senior officers, however, the more important question is a leadership one.
Many local authorities are now working with new Officer/Member leadership teams. Like any newly formed team, they will bring different experiences, different expectations, different ways of communicating and different approaches to decision-making. The organisations that navigate this period most successfully will be those whose leaders recognise what that requires of them.
In my experience, one of the strengths of local government is the depth of experience and capability within its leadership ranks: the ability to navigate political transitions, organisational restructures, financial pressures, service transformation and changing public expectations.
But as we focus on delivery, the most common leadership mistake is assuming that what worked before will work again. Leadership effectiveness is always newly shaped by circumstances.
Most senior officers will have spent years building productive working relationships with elected members, developing a shared understanding of priorities and establishing ways of working that enabled decision making and service delivery. In authorities which have seen significant political change, that dynamic will have changed significantly. This presents a fresh foundation from which a new understanding must be built with elected members.
The most effective leaders will approach that work with intent rather than waiting for familiarity to develop on its own.
One of the greatest risks to a productive working relationship is assumption. Officers must not assume that newly elected members share the same understanding of how local government operates, just as elected members must not assume that officers automatically understand the specific priorities and outcomes across the broad set of manifesto pledges which won their mandate. Effective leadership requires those assumptions to be surfaced, explored and discussed.
This matters particularly when translating political priorities into operational delivery. Questions about what success looks like, how progress will be measured, what risks are acceptable and what pace of change is realistic are more than administrative details. They are the leadership conversations that determine whether ambition becomes delivery. Done well, these are the conversations through which clarity and shared purpose are built.
Trust takes longer and it cannot be shortcut. In the early stages, discussions may take longer. More explanation may be required. This can feel frustrating when there is pressure to maintain momentum and deliver results. But leaders who invest time in understanding how people think, what they value and how they prefer to work together tend to find that the investment pays dividends. Teams with strong foundations make better decisions, navigate disagreement more constructively and deliver more consistently over the longer term.
The time taken to establish this alignment early on is time saved further down the line. Getting it right at the start is nearly always quicker than unpicking it later.
It is important to remember that the leadership mindset around change sets the tone for the whole organisation. Leaders who approach this period as an opportunity - to examine ways of working, to build new relationships and to think differently about delivery - create the conditions for others to do the same.
Leaders do not need to navigate this period on their own. Building trust, establishing shared understanding, helping teams adapt to change and creating the conditions for effective delivery are all areas where HR and organisational development professionals bring expertise and insight. Organisations that want to accelerate the journey from transition to delivery should make full use of those capabilities.
The authorities that come through this period strongest will not necessarily be those that experienced the least political change. They will be those whose leaders recognised that effectiveness requires adaptation, invested in building the right relationships and remained open to working differently.
Sandra Farquharson is president of the Public Service People Managers' Association, and director, HR & OD for Hackney LBC
