For:

Senior Managers, Executives, Elected Members in Public Sector organisations

Aim

• To develop clear meaningful plans

• To foster collaboration between elected members, officers and other executives

• To develop a business-like focus to strategy & planning whilst managing multiple demands and tough constraints

There are many similarities between the challenges faced by both the private and the public sector. However there are also some very real differences which prompted us to customise and develop tools specifically for our public sector customers. Several of our senior team have worked in the public sector and we have drawn on this experience and blended it with our private sector work to develop a selection of unique and challenging tools that we can use with senior teams and individuals.

In recent work with local authorities, we have found that top teams often struggle to develop and implement a truly strategic programme for the organisation and for the benefit of its stakeholders. This can be due to a range and combination of root causes, including:-

• Distinguishing between the strategic, the tactical and the operational issues, and handling them appropriately
  

• Being forced by political, governmental or other pressures into a situation where there is never time or focus to think strategically
  

• The ability of the member and officer teams to work effectively together
  

• The need to reconcile diverse political views or contradictory expert advice
  

• The truism that there is never sufficient finance to do all that must be done
  

• The absence of effective strategic thinking, analysis and planning processes

• Uncertainty about the future

We have adapted our strategic map model and the tools we use with private sector organisations to provide a challenging framework for public sector organisations. We work with senior teams as follows:

Research – We will interview key members of the top team to:

• Understand the methodology and approach used for planning and strategy development within the team

• Highlight what they see as the strengths and weaknesses of the current process

• Understand what they see as the main barriers to success in moving the organisation forward

• Prepare a report for the team that gives them an objective overview of what needs to be done to strengthen the organisation and to enhance the planning process

Developing people – We will run masterclasses as necessary to bring less experienced people up to speed with the tools and methods we will be using

Facilitating Off Site Planning Meetings – We will facilitate workshops to

• Review past performance and learn from this

• Agree and challenge current objectives

• Critically evaluate the current levels of performance

• Build a clear picture of how the environment is likely to change

• Agree the key actions that will drive success in the future

• Agree how to drive successful change with maximum buy-in from staff

Helping to pull together a clear plan – We will help to summarise the key issues and ensureindividuals have clear accountability for action. We have some unique tools and methods that will help the team to focus on the key issues quickly.

Presenting The Strategy – We provide ongoing coaching support to ensure the plan comes to life and is well communicated to the wider organisation