Effective Leadership for Unitaries

15th May 2008

A challenging period of change lays ahead for new and existing Unitary Councils. Transformation, by it's nature entails upheaval. Managing disruption, harnessing energy and sustaining motivation will be priorities over the ensuing months.

New organisations need reshaped infrastructure and top teams to progress and deliver. Existing organisations should also prepare for people moves. Radical change requires resource: almost always, the investment of time and skill is underestimated.

To provide some meaningful context for the impact of unitary change upon senior teams, GatenbySanderson recently undertook some research amongst Chief Executives who had been through the unitary process last time around. It was clear that all of them would have done some things differently and here is the summary of their top tips:

• Speed will give you a key advantage – be decisive, flexible and creative in your thinking when required otherwise you’ll always be playing catch up.
• Find the best people you can – Legal, HR & Finance will be critical
• Don’t leave gaps - use interim resource to drive immediate change
• Tackle immediate issues, however thorny, and avoid long transition periods
• Don’t let the detail take you away from the bigger picture
• Harness positive energy, maintain momentum, keep staff motivated and on board

Read the full article here