I’m often asked what is a ‘typical’ day in the life of a senior local govt director. Spoiler alert - there isn’t one. Yesterday was a prime example of the variety, stimulation and sense of reward that can come with a career in local government;
- About the only day-to-day constant is the early morning coffee and a flick through the local papers.?Helps me stay on top of issues that may be brewing and pre-empt where some of the ‘surprises’ of the day may come in from.?
- Kicked off the actual working day with a directorate leadership meeting (my reports and their direct reports) to reflect on some of the excellent work we’ve done these past few weeks but also to address an area that we can and should be doing more on - our approach to EDI within the directorate and with the wider community we serve. It was an uncomfortable meeting at times but luckily, they’re a bunch of values-driven leaders who ‘get it’ and were open to having a candid discussion about where we go to next.?My thanks to all of them for their candour and self awareness.?Leadership is easy when you’ve got such a team to call upon. ?
Alison May
,
Matthew Dibben
,
Matthew Blades
,
Rob Bristow
,
Robert O'Sullivan
,
Nitesh Pankhania
, Catherine Neal, Simon Phillips,
Andrew Anderson MRICS MRTPI
,
Kishore Perla
- Next, an Local Government Association-led peer training session, preparing to be part of a future peer challenge team.?Always good to meet like-minded folk from across the country who are giving up their time to help other local authorities to reflect on and improve their practice.?Thanks to
Ged Perkins
, Kirsty Human and
Ernest Opuni
for the fun but informative session.?Looking forward to helping on a peer review in the near future.?
- A couple of meetings with Members followed where we talked through tactics for dealing with some sticky issues we’re facing.?One of the joys (?!) of this job is by the time any issues reach you, there’s hardly ever any easy options remaining on the table. A trusted relationship between senior officers and senior politicians is key to finding a way through.?And like any relationship, you need to invest in it.?So I really value the 1-1s I have with the Members I serve.?
- A quick bite to eat at one of Brixton’s finest establishments was followed by a trip to Brixton Library for some brain food. I picked up a book about leadership (yawn) but was quickly distracted by the comings and goings of library lunchtime life.?It really is a gem of a library and seeing the various interactions underway made me realise that I need to spend more time on the front line.?Something to add to my to-do list.?
- The set piece meeting of the afternoon was our Climate Partnership Group - a group of 11 anchor organisations from across Lambeth that have committed to work together to implement our Climate Action Plan. Getting together for only the second time to hear about our joint Green Skills initiative and the Retrofit Resident Engagement Tool - two crucial areas for co-production where we will only gain traction if we approach it as a system.?Was sorry to have missed that and the post-meeting tour of the new Southbank Technical College in Vauxhall but hoping
Fiona Morey OBE
and
David Phoenix
wouldn’t mind showing me around in the weeks to come.?Well done to
Cassidy Travis
for organising and ensuring it ran so smoothly. ?
- Finished off the day in the office, sitting on an interview panel alongside our Director of Public Health and other health partners recruiting for a new Research Director to take forward our successful ￡5m Lambeth HEART funding bid.?This is a new post that will be increasing research capacity and capability within the Council to address the wider determinants of health (e.g. housing, education, employment) and health inequalities in the local area.?And they’ll get to work with
Ruth Hutt
- one of the best in the business.?
- Hopped over to the City for a meeting with a key investor in the borough about a major scheme coming forward, which will bring in ￡millions in CIL/s106 as well as thousands of jobs and opportunities for our residents.?Always energising to hear other people’s passion for placemaking and as a borough that is proud to be open for business, a big part of my job is to be an external visible ‘front-door’ to investors. ?
- Finished the day having a 1-1 over a drink at the NED (when in Rome…??) with my Director of Planning,
Rob Bristow
talking about upcoming planning applications and what the Budget announcements today may hold for us.?Always insightful chewing the fat with him.?
