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WORKFORCE FUTURES
ROUNDTABLE REPORT
This report summarises the key discussion points from the fourth Resourcing Futures roundtable held in
2010, commissioned and hosted by Hays and attended by fourteen senior workforce leaders from
different areas of the public sector, including central / local government and housing.
The session was conducted and recorded under the ‘Chatham House Rule’.
Changing Times: A New Type of Leader for a New Era of Government?
A recent survey of public sector executives found that only 16% of respondents believe their existing
leadership team is up to the challenges posed by the spending cuts. This roundtable discussion explored
what qualities would be needed and how they might be identified and nurtured.
The session examined qualities as diverse as emotional intelligence and entrepreneurialism - as well as
the danger of "tissue rejection" of new ways of working. It was noted that "to lead" is a verb, which
implies action.
The event opened with an introduction by Zoe Gruhn, Director of Learning at the Institute for
Government, providing an overview of their recent research into governance, leadership and
accountability – and the impact of these factors on senior government officials (such as elected mayors
and ministers).
Summary of Discussion
Attendees remarked at the speed of the coalition government's programme of change, with the fastest
pace of change coming from the Communities and Local Government department.
One delegate said that the move from a top-down management model to a regulatory model would
require a different approach to leadership: the ‘tight-loose’ blend. There is a new role for government
departments as coordinators rather than top-down administrators: "It is a sea change in the way
government operates."
Several delegates suggested changes that could be required from public sector leadership.
- There may be greater movement in and out of roles
- More clarity on the role of boards
- A new need for agility, especially with the regulatory model.

Pre-requisites for leadership in the new world would be:
- A vision of where the organisation is going
- The ability to communicate that vision
- Strong determination to make it happen
Additionally, there will be much demand for empathy and imagination.
It was noted that most Whitehall departments did not have a clear narrative of what they would look like
when the cuts process had run its course. There is a need to give people a strong sense of their worth
and purpose.
Leaders must have a genuine and wide understanding of the social context in which they operate. Front
line experience is absolutely essential.
Ministers say that they recognise that staff are fearful in the current climate, and that the ‘fear-factor’ will
get in the way unless you have leaders who empathise and are imaginative rather than overbearing.
One phrase that sums up the essential qualities is the term "emotional intelligence".
The future model of public services envisaged by the coalition government will put more emphasis on
"co-creation" of processes: "designed with people, not for them". However this will be possible only if
leaders have experience of the link between policy and delivery.
It was noted that the ambition is long-term, extending far beyond the current government's timetable,
when “the shape of the public sector will have changed for ever." However, the coalition's ability to turn
its agenda into real change depends on a close relationship between politicians and administrators and
those "delivering on the front line". Politicians need to recognise that their job is to formulate policy,
leaving the ‘how’ to administrators.
One delegate observed that the government has a poor record of learning from the private sector, eg.
merely sending an executive off to the private sector for a couple of years is "lazy" and there is a
tendency to treat new experience as a "bolt-on" rather than a source of fundamental change.
A participant who had joined the public sector from the private sector vividly described the culture shock.
"There have been moments when I thought I couldn't cope."
There was a feeling that the argument over the respective merits of public and private sectors had been
"played out" - the reality is that organisations will have to identify what leadership talent they already
employ, and find ways to develop it.
Leaders need to encourage staff to think entrepreneurially, but that is "a big ask" for many employees in
local government, one participant noted.
"It's about taking risks, taking hard decisions about criteria and eligibility for services."
One of the biggest challenges is finding people to set up and lead social enterprises to take on public
services. "There are loads of people who could do it, but don't believe they can do it," one participant
said. There is a need for advice and mentoring. "People are up for change, but there's fear, they're
looking to their leaders to say entrepreneurship is OK."

Another noted the tendency of Whitehall departments to treat their agencies as "children", with a "parent
knows best" attitude,
The leadership style of Communities Secretary Eric Pickles provoked a lively discussion. One participant
observed his style as one of blunt determination to change what he sees as a failing system, ie. "I'm
going to turn this organisation around". This is "probably not the most desirable experience". There is a
fear that some ideas emerging from the department are "not completely thought through and people are
being asked to implement something that isn't as clear as it might be. We're hearing a lot of political
ideology but it is incredibly hard to know how this is going to work through."
One participant raised the question of uncertainties involving place-based services. "The mind set is
changing. Total Place needs to move beyond focusing on saving money to the next stage in the process,
which doesn't necessarily involve reducing services."
Local authorities have had a "pretty tough year, and it's going to get tougher". However, there was a fear
that, while individual leaders are talented, the team is collectively punching below its weight: "Some
leaders have fantastic skills – but there is an over-emphasis on pace, with engagement sidelined." The
danger with ‘too-brutal’ change is that barriers can come up: "like tissue rejection in transplant surgery".
There is a risk of "more haste, less speed" and it might be wiser to take more time with the reforms.
Several participants described themselves as energised by the pace of change.
There was a reference to the leadership style forged by Jack Welch at General Electric - identifying a
group of leaders and working alongside them regularly. While the public sector does not have the money
for lavish team-building trips, some of the principles could be used.
A participant suggested that there is a difference between leadership and management.
One big variable in the public sector is the extent to which leadership is shared, with management,
boards and elected politicians all playing a role. Whitehall is very dominated by politicians, but in other
organisations a strong chief executive might be more powerful. Participants agreed that the "leadership
space" can be "incredibly crowded", leading to problems of accountability. There is also not enough
exchanging of skills between boards and executives (and a dwindling number of people putting
themselves forward to serve on boards, as the lack of a clear role can be a "big turnoff" for high calibre
applicants).
One participant commented that the real challenge is with middle managers rather than top leadership.
"That's the level where people are really uncomfortable with risk taking." By contrast "employees and
unions are much more up for it".
The point was made that it is politically difficult for organisations to invest in training and leadership when
they are cutting jobs.
There was praise for local authorities that had adopted no-redundancy policies, instead re-deploying staff
based on skills and competencies.
A new type of leader is needed, but what are the necessary skills and competencies?
One answer that met with approval was: "Resilience, strategic leadership and entrepreneurialism."

Another was: "Strategic leadership with the bandwidth to deal with big issues."
One participant identified three types of managers:
- People who are really good at making things happen
- People who like to think big thoughts
- Proper resource managers
"You need a leader who can explain to staff. It has to be someone who can stand in front of your
workforce and direct them credibly. A chief executive you can lock in the cupboard for the rest of the
year."
However basic competencies should not be overlooked. For example, an understanding of the use of
ICT is absolutely essential, one participant said.
It was pointed out that leadership skills are learnable - perhaps the most desirable ability is one to
unlearn the habits acquired early in a career: "the ability to recognise that the way you’ve been trained
isn't the only way".
Future leaders will operate in a social networking environment and they will have to engage with the
public. Skills in conflict resolution and the ability to bring people together were also stressed.
Sometimes there is a conflict between a leader's responsibility as a chief executive and the public
interest - for example the tendency to defend organisations threatened with abolition.
This is less about organisational leadership and more about shaping the future, creating a sense of
purpose for what people are doing. For a lot of people, their sense of self worth is based on belonging to
an organisation. That is going to be challenged.
The greatest challenges facing the public sector today are bringing out the best and the worst,
participants agreed. There was a consensus that more needs to be done to encourage talent: "At the
moment we're celebrating averageness." However rewarding success is difficult in the public sector,
where the private sector’s measure-of-success of ‘growing the business’ does not apply. Indeed, if you
are a success in government over the next few years, you will actually ‘shrink the business’. In the public
sector, people who have been successful tend to get on by moving to a bigger organisation. "The
incentives are to do the job really well and then get a new job, rather than growing the job."
For many organisations, the difficulty now is describing what the future looks like.
The cuts are like a big rock in the road that is very difficult to see beyond. But much public sector
leadership is more than just leadership of an organisation: "It's leadership of a place, leadership of a
department is quite a small part of what government is there to achieve".