Simon Hart - Interim Leader - Taking clients straight to the eye of the storm

What led you to become an interim?

Circumstance really. I was Director of Social Services in Gateshead and had mapped out a programme that had taken the council from an ‘average’ rating to the stage where we had three stars and were performing strongly. After an extensive career in social services in the North East, I decided to take early retirement. However, I was really keen to continue working in areas that were struggling to improve their services so that I could apply my learning and experience more extensively. I feel passionate about social care and had a drive to push geographical as well as personal boundaries.

What was your first interim assignment?

I was the Interim Director of Social Services in Barking & Dagenham, who at the time was a one star authority with a ‘Fair’ CPA rating, but had the ambition to strongly improve performance quickly. There were three key elements to the brief:

• Manage all social care services
• Improve performance
• Work closely with the Chief Executive to determine the implications of the new Children’s Act, Children’s Trust and the new Adult Community Services

There was a lot to achieve in a short space of time but, having worked in social services since 1974, when services were first introduced, I was on very familiar territory.

What are you doing now?

I’m working in the new Children’s Department of a local authority. Their brief is to provide broad based knowledge of social care to a team whose experience is weighted more to education.

This is often the case as historically directors have tended to be within education or social services so there are bound to be some knowledge gaps. I think it will be the third generation of directors who will have experience in both.

A large part of my current role is mentoring and ensuring the new team grow into their role with confidence. This can be a really satisfying part of being an interim – you effectively use the knowledge that has been built up over the years and see that it makes a real, measurable difference.

The other side of the coin, of course, is that you constantly learn new things too. It’s not just about passing on your previous knowledge but using your current experience to gain new insights.

What are the real challenges you face as an interim on assignment?

• Developing an understanding of the authority and its locality.
  It’s not enough to just be familiar with the geography; you need to spend time and effort in understanding the community and the culture of the organisation. To hit the ground running you have to quickly assess not just the issues but how people work and communicate together.
• Getting to grips with the performance of the team or department.
  You need to be able to identify risks very quickly and then determine what action you’ll take. A lot of time is spent doing the ‘fixing’ so, of all the things that you could do, you need to make sure you prioritise the deliverables that will make a real, immediate difference. All eyes are on you from day one.
• Dealing with the difficulties.
  When you have assessed the issues and identified problem areas, then you have to take action; you can’t afford to prevaricate. On my first assignment at Barking & Dagenham there were a lot of management changes. You learn to make decisions, work with the council to apply the right processes, and move on.

How do you maintain your enthusiasm?

This is the easy part of being an interim really. You constantly meet new people, experience new challenges and solutions, and see the impact that you have made. What really motivates me is when I can feel a positive response from an organisation in the first place. Then I know that they want me to be there and to make a difference.

How do you prepare for each assignment?

There’s not much time so you do have to be organised. I read as much as I can to get a feel for an organisation’s situation – its strength and challenges. It’s also imperative to be clear about the brief. You can’t be reticent about checking out the facts and ensuring that the information you have been given is correct.

As a senior interim, you are likely to have a close relationship with the Chief Executive, Corporate Directors and key politicians in the council. They need to be open with you and clear as to why you are there. You need to work hard at these relationships and use them to your advantage.

For me openness is essential. I say it how I see it and I expect a clear response if people agree or disagree. Quite often, I’ll deliberately be contentious to elicit a response. It’s important to challenge without being intimidating.

What gives you most satisfaction when an assignment is complete?

Without doubt, it’s listening to those people who use the services and feel that they have improved. I spend a lot of time with people within the community – partners, carers, service users - and knowing that they have a chance to have their say and change the way we do things is very rewarding.

Has life as an interim turned out the way you expected?

Better. I wasn’t sure what to expect or what response I would get. I feel very fortunate to have led on assignments where I’ve been genuinely wanted.

How do you let off steam when you’re not working?

I’m very much an active, outdoor person. I have a grown up family and spend lots of time with them, particularly supporting my local rugby team. There’s no shortage of work but I do make sure I have a break of 1-2 months between assignments. After that, I’m ready to get back into the thick of it.