The annual Ipsos MORI/The MJ survey of the most impressive leaders in local government shows women chief executivesare gaining the respect of their peers – but female leaders have a long way to go, says Ben Page Who do chief executives and council leaders find most impressive among their peers? The second Annual Ipsos MORI/The MJ survey of the most impressive leaders in local government is now out. And the results are fascinating. While some of the top scores go to national figures, others go to less well-known people who are clearly making waves locally. The top 10 chief executives, as voted for in our survey of chief executives and leaders, are led by a complete tie – joint first place goes to Lewisham LBC chief executive, Barry Quirk, and Irene Lucas, chief executive of South Tyneside MBC, who each received an identical number of votes. Mr Quirk featured prominently in our last survey, and is praised for ‘retaining his capacity for championing new ideas after years in the job, having delivered steady but impressive service improvement', and for the ‘calibre of his contributions to all areas of debate on local government'. Ms Lucas – who, alongside her team has just won an MJ achievement award – is well known for her dynamism. Her peers say they voted for her because ‘she turned around her council performance', and they praise ‘her focus on quality of life for local people. She takes an interest in the outside world, and in the world outside local government'. Finally her ‘approach to community engagement and general leadership style' is praised. As last year, Sir Howard Bernstein is praised for his tireless work in regenerating Manchester, and his close working relationship with Sir Richard Leese. A new entrant in this survey, Donna Hall of Chorley BC, is praised for her ‘dynamism', her ‘inspirational leadership, which has produced transformational change improving service delivery, while making significant savings'. Given that less than one-quarter of chief executives are women, they make up an impressive number of our top 10. Does this reflect a change in the way their peers assess ‘success', or are women simply more tuned in to a leadership style for a more complex and inter-related world? When we turn to political leaders, Sir Simon Milton won easily, in terms of votes cast. His peers praise ‘significant leadership qualities' and ‘aspiration', and they talk of him ‘driving improvement from excellent and representing the whole sector'. His work at Westminster is praised, and others single out ‘his intellectual capabilities' and ‘his ability to understand the needs of all authorities whether urban, rural, unitary or district'. Sir Richard Leese is seen as offering ‘strong vision and leadership for the area, the regeneration of Manchester' and looking forward to his coming battle over congestion charging ‘a brave stance on controversial issues'. Paul Bettison makes up the top three. His peers say: ‘He is a sensible and skilled politician – good at working with partners, he manages both strategy and detail, he keeps his feet on the ground, and stays in touch with the public.' Two elected mayors, the mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe, and the mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, are in the top 10, with specific recognition of the leadership they have offered their authorities. What is interesting about the leading members – apart from the absence of any women in the top 10 – is that almost all are praised for their work outside their own authorities, either on another body – eg, Merrick Cockell at London Councils – or their work with bodies outside their authority, and their use of distributed leadership. Plugging away in silence, in your own authority alone, will not win you any plaudits. Overall, the impressive list of people from the survey highlights that local government really has strength in depth, and bodes well for the next stage of its development as it gains more and more confidence. n Ben Page is managing director of Ipsos MORI
