Solace is a growing membership body with over 1400 members An increasing proportion of our members are senior managers making it more important that Solace work, and our emerging business plan, reflects the breadth of senior leadership in the sector – not just CEOs Solace remains recognised and influential both within Government and across the local government family

Solace is about two main things: Career spanning professional bodies providing high levels of support and challenge to its members To promote progressive local government reform which create ‘productive places and people with no one left behind’ We want Solace to become the professional body of choice for all current and future leaders and managers in and around local government. Central to that is providing development programmes and events that support individuals throughout their careers.

Our main leadership programmes include: National graduate development programme Springboard programme for aspiring middle managers Transform programme – for middle to senior manager focused on delivering significant change Total Leadership programme – for aspiring CEOs Ignite programme – for established CEOs We also provide courses to support individuals starting new roles at Head of Service, Director and CO level, as well as subject specific courses in areas such as commercialisation, running elections and coaching and mentoring. For those interested, we also provide tailored leadership and management programmes for individual local councils. For more information speak to Julie Howarth, 020 7976 3311, or e-mail development@solace.org.uk

Leadership in Complex Systems ‘’For every problem there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong…’’ (H. L. Mencken) ‘’If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. You are a leader’’. (John Quincy Adams)

moving towards system leadership FROM TO Organisational Ownership Shared responsibility for outcomes and for removing obstacles Organisations as a series of structures Organisations as complex interrelated systems Leadership of organisation Leader within a system. Moving from telling to influencing Individual development/organisational development Development with partners Organisational governance Cross Organisation governance Data to inform/evidence decisions Analysis of interconnections plus dependencies Single budget Integrated budgets Hard structures Adaptive structures Self Reflection Seeking feedback

One Year into Essex : Personal Reflections A recognition that we are players in a wider system and There are examples of some great “system” leadership However: Many parts of the “system” are broken History is holding us back Many actions and behaviours are too often based on unchallenged assumptions Some structural tensions We tend to focus on the “doing” rather than investing in the “how” Our leadership networks are under-developed We do a lot of advocating and not enough proper listening Therefore , there is not enough TRUST in our system

So, why aren’t we better at it? It’s really time consuming and difficult Our organisational performance management systems haven’t kept up We don’t share and analyse data together Conflict with organisational loyalty Ego