Why do some councils perform better than others, despite serving similar places, with similar amounts of money? Obviously, a key issue must be the performance of the political and managerial leadership. Understanding more about what the best managers and leaders actually ‘do’ on a day-to-day basis might help us lesser mortals perform better. For the IDeA, Ipsos MORI is nearing the completion of an in-depth study of the motivations of some of the best performers. We are looking at what distinguishes them from those running authorities who never seem to quite get it together. What is interesting is how many of these people spend a good deal of time setting the tone, walking the walk, with staff and partners across their authority. Several confessed that they had no idea how important a part of their job this would be. Conversely, we have seen those who make fundamental mistakes in this area. The ex-London chief executive who got all their diverse staff together in a huge hall, and then talked about ‘coloured people’, which was a little like blowing one’s toes off with a 12 bore. Similarly, the chief executive who expects staff who want to see them to make appointments with their PA and then wait in reception – even if their office is next door – is not going to have much genuine support if things get tough. But above all, what distinguishes the best is a genuine sense of passion for their authority and the area it serves. Only in weaker authorities have we heard things like, ‘It’s just a job’ from a chief executive. It’s perhaps a question we all ought to ask ourselves – are we passionate enough about what we do? The IDeA/Ipsos MORI report What distinguishes the best leaders in local government? will be released this autumn. n
