“This was the best leadership course I’ve ever been on. It provided an excellent combination of theory and practical learning. I met some amazing people across the sector which enabled me to learn from the experiences of others and reflect upon my own leadership style and journey.”
Sara Turnbull, Service Director Strategy, Improvement & Governance Adults and Health Directorate, Buckinghamshire Council
Why create the Leadership Programme?
In the past decade, Local Government has faced unprecedented change. The 2021 APSE report, entitled Local by Default and produced in partnership with De Montfort University identified several pressures on future council Chief Execs and Senior Directors including:
- Austerity has led to a reduction in strategic policy-making capacity across authorities.
- Cuts have led to a change in skills required, through the creation of ‘super directorates’
- Chief Officers have reported the absence of time and space for strategic reflection.
- Reductions in ‘back-office’ policy capacity making it more difficult to formulate and implement effective policies.
In addition to these findings, the sector has also seen unprecedented levels of movement at Executive level, with a considerable number of Chief Executives leaving the profession, having guided their organisations through the pandemic.
New ways of working
Research conducted by Commercial Services Group and Professor Steven Griggs – Staffordshire University, has identified the need for Local Government Executives to adapt to these changes, to embrace new ways of working, through an expansion of skills and learning, through sector and external collaboration.
This research identified three key pillars of learning:
