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Effective leadership, more than ever, needs to go beyond ensuring the effective delivery of services. There are no real prizes for getting things done to time, budget, specification and customer satisfaction. For sure, when we get these things wrong we get the criticism we – probably – deserve. But when we get them right, day in, day out, as we normally do, we are merely doing the least that people rightly expect. Unfortunately, it is the fear of criticism that all too often drives our political and managerial behaviour. That drives us to micro manage and interfere to the point that, otherwise, very able people no longer have the confidence to do naturally what they are good at. Being second-guessed and having someone looking over your shoulder all the time, waiting for the error, is not the best way to get good performance. What we saw at the recent Olympics really shouldn't have come as a surprise – investing in the best facilities and equipment; spending time to coach and develop already talented people; and giving them the support and confidence to succeed pays rich dividends. Coaching, training and learning are about getting the best from people, and they don't work so well when used as remedial measures which assume that any problem is with the individual and not the system, process or plan. When all else fails, stick up another mission statement and send the staff on another course. What really makes the difference is our ability to stay committed to our end goals. Getting our communities on our side and involved, getting others to work with us to maximise the value we have, and influencing other decision-makers to see the wider impact of that which we are trying to achieve – these are the key skills we need to develop. Our staff, our partners and, most importantly, our communities will stick with us if they can see and believe in what we are trying to achieve. And they will more readily forgive the occasional mistake. Martin Horton is a director at SOLACE Enterprises

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WHITEHALL

Soap Box - Effective leadership

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