Management in Action 2022 Agenda

Have I Listened with Kindness Today?
Justin Featherstone

Justin will use his experiences as an Army officer and from his time on expedition to illustrate the place of kindness and listening in developing trust among communities and teams. He will also explore the place of showing vulnerability, exercising moral courage and creating shared purpose when operating in complex and challenging environments.  In short, this is a look at why meaningful connection is so important to our wellbeing and getting things done and why leadership is an attitude to relationships, not a position, band or grade. 

Levelling Up and our Communities
Danny Kruger MP

Danny Kruger was elected the MP for Devizes in the December 2019 election. In September 2021 he was promoted to the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). From July-December 2019 he was Political Secretary to Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 10 Downing Street, and formerly the Government’s Expert Adviser on Civil Society at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. Between 2008 and 2016 he founded and led two charities, the criminal justice project Only Connect and the West London Zone for Children and Young People. He was chief speechwriter to David Cameron MP as leader of the opposition; chief leader writer at the Daily Telegraph; and Director of Studies at the Centre for Policy Studies. He has a D.Phil in history from Oxford University and an MA from Edinburgh University. He is the author of On Fraternity: Politics beyond Liberty and Equality (Civitas, 2007).

Are We Being Responsible?
Kelly Watson, CCLA

As investors we have a fiduciary, as well as a moral duty to drive change for good. Through both our investment choices and our interaction with companies, we aim to safeguard our communities and our future. This has meant leading the way on important initiatives such as helping companies address climate change, tackling the scourge of modern slavery and building tools to help companies take better care of employee mental health. 

People Management
Patricia Marks and Aisha Elliott, Somerset Business Agency

Managing people is the most diverse, challenging and rewarding element of any business or organisation – as it is all about the people! 

We will discuss: 

• People Strategy  
• Roles and Responsibilities 
• Talking the Talk 
• Walking the Walk 
• Decision Making and Actioning

Josie Payne, Founder and Managing Director of Bruck Payne Associates, Game Changer and Executive Coach

With 24 years’ experience working with private, public and voluntary sectors Josie will share learning techniques through tools and personal stories from her journey.

Josie will talk about the effects of the COVID Tsunami and some of the wicked problems it has brought to organisations, teams and individuals.

Whether we want to or not! we must recognise “hybrid” working. We MUST identify the different motivations of our people and find ways to inspire. The consequence of us doing this will save us losing our talented and high potential people now and in the future.

Management Tactics
Patricia Marks and Aisha Elliott, Somerset Business Agency

Do any of us understand management, is it now an overused word that is losing its meaning? 

In this session we will discuss:

• Management Approach 
• Reading the room 
• What to do when it’s not working? 
• What does good management look like? 
• Creating the right culture 

The Orator CEO
Phil Collins

History’s greatest leaders have been its greatest orators. From Pericles to Barack Obama, via Elizabeth I and Winston Churchill, the orators have ruled. That is as true today as it ever was. In fact, in an era when a leader’s every word is recorded, published and analysed, the link between the arts of leadership and oratory has never been stronger.  

The challenges faced by modern business executives, after all, are persuasive in nature. Investors must buy their vision. Employees must deliver it. Regulators and policymakers must support, or at least not oppose, it. An increasingly activist public must be engaged, sometimes inspired, too.  

It is little surprise, then, that the iconic CEOs of recent years have been great communicators. Investors hang on every word of Buffett and Bezos’s shareholder letters. Jobs’s speeches are still watched by millions. The annals of corporate history, meanwhile, are littered with the names of CEOs who failed to communicate their vision.  

The data is clear too: CEOs who communicate well are more effective. Good CEO communications result in lower capital costs and better financial performance, says S&P. CEOs’ communications are a key indicator for investors, say Frankfurt University researchers. A CEO’s personality, illustrated by their communications, directly affects their company’s stock price, says HBR. 

This is the age of the Orator CEO. 

The Power of Movement
Jane Biscombe

As Clerks, our lives revolve around agendas, so today we are going to a scary place – the session with no agenda!

Join Jane Biscombe, Clerk at Weymouth, as we co-design our own agendas, explore what’s important to us, learn and share with our colleagues and use our power of movement to create our own, unique and personal agenda. All you need bring is your expertise and your questions.

In April 2022 Ian and Johnathan facilitated a workshop of Chief Officers/Clerks from larger Local Councils to explore some of the issues and challenges facing our sector and in particular our roles as professional senior managers in the sector.

In this interactive session, we’ll take you through the process and the outputs from the workshop.  You’ll learn about the ‘Stanford Creative Design Process’ that we’re using as our guiding methodology, and you’ll have a chance to get stuck in to considering and challenging the long list of ‘problem statements’ that came out of the workshop.

For more information about the background to the workshop please feel free to visit Ian’s personal blog site https://iamianmiam.uk/ .  Disclaimer: this is a personal blog site and any opinions expressed are Ian’s own and are not necessarily supported or endorsed by his employer or SLCC!

Managing the Political Divide
Professor Steven Griggs

Clerks are constantly moving in and out of the political world of local councillors. As they do, they take on multiple roles, draw on different bodies of knowledge, and work across alternative spaces of decision-making. But what makes for effective officer-members relations? And how do we generate and maintain the collaboration that supports the work of political leaders?

Drawing on current research on officer-member relations across local government, this workshop aims to capture the everyday experiences of clerks in working with and for elected members. The session will explore basic principles in the forging of relationships between officers and members, examining interpersonal skills and mutual expectations across different scenarios. In so doing, it aims to capture the collective craft and professional practice of clerks in the room.

The Collapse of Integrity in British Public Life
Peter Oborne

Is Britain still a place where the rule of law, fairness and public service still matter – or whether we are changing into something different and darker. Peter goes through the Nolan principles which govern public life in Britain, noting how they are being observed in politics and in wider society, including local government.