A leading head-hunter has blamed the increasing demand for strategic partnership skills as a reason for a shortage of skilled chief executives. The Audit Commission recently produced a study concluding that the limited pool of skilled candidates was a main reason for rising chief executive salaries. But in a letter to Localgov.co.uk sister title The MJ this week, Graham Goodwin, managing partner for GatenbySanderson, says: ‘Increasingly, the chief executive role is more about managing strategic partnerships and political relationships and less about service delivery where there is more direct control.' He adds: ‘While some prefer the new emphasis, others will choose to stay in a directorate role, thereby diminishing the available pool.' He said that while councils might try and ‘grow their own', tight budgets means training budgets are cut.
