Personal Reflections on Leadership Liz Blyth Tuesday 15 March 2016

Three themes  My background  Thoughts on leadership  Some personal reflections

My background  Recently left local government to become freelance  13 years at Leicester City Council; 5 years as director  4 years p.t as director/ sub regional lead for Cultural Improvement Partnership East Midlands  Prior experience in neighbourhood management, voluntary sector, community safety, Oxfam  Graduate of Leading Learning

My director role  Led Arts, Museums, Sports, Heritage, Libraries and Community Services at Leicester with a £16m budget and circa 600 staff  Significant investment and ambition for culture – eg Curve theatre, heritage, library development, creative industries workspace, Phoenix digital media centre, Olympics, Rugby World Cup, Diwali, UK City of Culture bid  Incredible discovery of Richard III  In last 4 years taken out c.£2.5 million revenue in efficiency savings/ budget reductions

King Richard III Reinterment

Rugby World Cup

Summer Festivals and Events

Diwali

What is a leader? Someone with followers’ Someone who connects with people and connects people up Someone with vision, drive and energy Guides and motivates groups, teams and organisations to meet goals Is a good communicator, inspirational Has resilience, determination Has integrity and can be trusted

Leaders and followers  No-one leads all the time  Followers are very rarely passive, especially professionals  Kelley (1998) suggests that the success and failure of groups, organisations and teams is not only dependent on how well a leader can lead, but also on how well the followers can follow

“ ” MANAGERS ARE PEOPLE WHO DO THINGS RIGHT AND LEADERS ARE PEOPLE WHO DO THE RIGHT THINGS Beniss, W and Nanus, B 1985

“ ” LEADERS DON’T CREATE FOLLOWERS THEY CREATE MORE LEADERS Tom Peters

Thinking about ambition  State your intention  Say yes to things that challenge you, keep learning  Find opportunities for profile – but not at others’ expense  Play a straight bat  Don’t peak too early!

Leadership: what I have learned  Relationships, relationships, relationships  Develop a strong, multi talented team  Be proactive and responsive – have a plan and make it happen  Use available expertise and networks to enable good decision making

Leadership: what I have learned  Keep an ear to the ground about politics but don’t meddle in it  Consider timing, remember that politicians will be mindful of the next election  Act with integrity, think about the newspaper headline….  Be adaptable and flexible and lead change well  Be a good bungee jumper…

Politics: what I have learned  The best relationship is a partnership of mutual understanding, trust and honesty between senior politicians and senior officers  In basic terms, politicians do strategy and policy, officers make it happen  In reality, both shape policy and strategy, both provide leadership  Political leadership and managerial leadership are separate but interdependent

What’s helped to position culture and sport in Leicester? Ambition – finding ways to deliver excellence Partnerships – new projects and connections Strong leadership - driving innovation and change Developing staff and volunteers – our best assets Champions – politicians and other key stakeholders Clear strategy and action plan Aligning services to corporate priorities – health and well being, children’s services, regeneration etc

Questions and comments?