District council leaders manage a wide range of services that directly impact their communities. Within the context of local government review, constrained resources, geopolitical challenges and the push for sustainable practices, unified leadership across the council is essential.

Our client was concerned about a growing lack of cohesion within and between their Senior Leadership (SLT) and Extended Leadership (ELT) teams. Service leaders operated in silos and a lack of psychological safety hindered collaboration.

We were asked to help the ELT develop a shared vision and clear sense of purpose and increase leaders’ self-awareness and confidence to drive and deliver organisational priorities. A focus was to equip leaders with the skills to lead collaboratively while enabling self-reflection, personal development and team-building.

It was very insightful to come together, share ideas and have open and honest conversations about transformation and what’s next for us as an organisation.

 

It was an opportunity to discuss key matters with colleagues and agree ways forward – making actual progress and committing to actions.

We delivered four leadership development modules for the ELT over a 9 month timeframe. Each module focused on a key aspect of leadership.

Module 1: Leading self – leaders were invited to reflect on their leadership practice, impact and influence, drawing on psychometric assessments completed in advance.

Module 2: Leading transformation – this module explored the leader’s role in transformation, the impact of change from multiple perspectives and strategies to support, drive and mobilise effective change.

I valued how practical and interactive the activities were – looking at how we present ourselves and learning together from trial and error.

Module 3: Leading teams – drawing on theory and practice of leading teams, this module focused on how to create the conditions for high performing teams.

Module 4: Leading partnerships – this module explored the theory and practice of working in partnership with stakeholders. Leaders enhanced their skills for building effective partnerships and integrating insights into their approaches.

To reinforce learning, leaders were invited to participate in facilitated action learning sets between modules, providing time to apply new concepts, reflect on their experiences and refine their leadership approach. Learning materials, reflective learning journals and executive coaching support was also available to the cohort.

Leaders completed a self-rated survey before and after our development programme to assess their views on the ELT’s collaboration, their own leadership, managing transformation and leading high-performing teams.

Results showed a consistent shift from lower initial self ratings to higher, more positive ratings across all areas. Overall, leaders feel more confident, self-aware and better equipped to collaborate effectively, drive transformation and manage high performance within their teams.

Qualitative feedback also positively highlighted the value and insights leaders gained from the modules.

We needed to change from theory-based learning to design bespoke, practical and immersive team development. While the long-term impact remains to be seen, the programme has given the whole team greater confidence and leadership skills to successfully navigate our uncertain future together for the benefit of our residents.

CEO