Max Wide at ‘The Place Agenda Unwrapped’
Leaders from across local government, central government and the wider public sector came together in London this week for ‘The Place Agenda Unwrapped’ – an afternoon exploring what it will take to unlock the full potential of place-based leadership and create the conditions for lasting change.
Hosted by the Leadership Centre at Arcadis’ London offices, the event brought together senior leaders to reflect on the opportunities presented by the current reform agenda, share experiences from across the sector and explore how leadership can help turn ambition into action.
Opening the event, David Lloyd, Chair of the Leadership Centre, welcomed delegates before Richard Proctor from Arcadis welcomed guests to the venue. Max Wide, Interim CEO of the Leadership Centre, set the scene by reflecting on the complexity of leading through change and the need to move beyond short-term pilots towards approaches that can genuinely reshape systems and improve outcomes for communities.
Different perspectives, shared themes
The afternoon brought together a diverse group of leaders, each offering a different perspective on what effective place leadership looks like in practice.
Catherine Howe discusses Dorset Council’s experience as a unitary authority
Drawing on Dorset Council’s experience as a unitary authority, Catherine Howe, Chief Executive of Dorset Council, reflected on what it means to build a modern organisation that is designed around people rather than structures. She spoke about creating integrated services rather than siloed teams, embedding a shared culture, and moving beyond short-term pilots to approaches that make prevention part of everyday practice. Her message was clear: organisations cannot achieve extraordinary things unless they create the conditions for their people to do extraordinary work.
For Helen Bailey, Chief Executive of the London Borough of Sutton, leadership is about creating the confidence for others to act. She explored the role of psychological safety, holding creative tension and empowering people to make decisions for their place rather than waiting for perfect conditions.
Nigel Keohane presenting at ‘The Place Agenda Unwrapped’
From a national perspective, Nigel Keohane, Head of Strategy at the Cabinet Office, reflected on the opportunities presented by public service reform. His contribution focused on balancing national ambition with local innovation, building alliances and adopting a genuine test-and-learn approach that meets people where they are.
Drawing on decades of experience supporting public service leaders, Mark Rogers, Associate Director at the Leadership Centre and Interim Chief Executive of Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority, reflected on the enduring importance of trust, relationships and collaboration. He argued that strong partnerships create the social capital that enables organisations to innovate and navigate complexity together.
Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of LGiU, encouraged delegates to look beyond the barriers to place-based working and consider what they might represent. Rather than accepting organisational constraints at face value, he invited leaders to ask what those barriers are really protecting against and whether an over-reliance on pilots can sometimes delay the systemic change places are seeking.
Closing the session, Max Wide drew together the common threads running throughout the afternoon. Despite the different perspectives, the messages were remarkably consistent: successful place leadership depends on humanity, collaboration, shared power and trusted relationships that extend beyond organisational boundaries.
From ideas to action
Following the speaker session, delegates took part in facilitated breakout discussions exploring three key questions:
- What skills and qualities do leaders need to cultivate for place leadership?
- What would a comprehensive place leadership support offer look like?
- What innovation breakthroughs are needed to help places thrive?
The conversations revealed a remarkable level of consistency across groups.
Participants at the event at Arcadis in Central London
Participants repeatedly highlighted the importance of psychological safety and trust, systems thinking, relationships, curiosity, and making the shift from control to coaching. There was a strong sense that effective place leadership depends not only on technical expertise, but on creating environments where people feel confident to collaborate, challenge and innovate.
When considering how leaders can best be supported, participants emphasised the importance of understanding place and hyper-local identity, creating safe spaces for challenge and enquiry, learning across organisational boundaries, spending time alongside communities and developing opportunities for peer learning. Rather than searching for simple solutions, discussions focused on developing the relationships, behaviours and leadership needed to navigate complexity and deliver meaningful, long-term change.
Continuing the conversation
A consistent theme throughout the afternoon was that successful place-based leadership is not simply about structures or governance. It depends on trust, collaboration, shared purpose and the confidence to work differently across organisational and sector boundaries. The conversations also reinforced that there are no simple answers to the complex challenges facing places. However, by bringing together leaders with different experiences and perspectives, events like ‘The Place Agenda Unwrapped’ create the space to challenge assumptions, build new relationships and explore practical ways of turning ambition into action.
We’d like to thank all of our speakers, facilitators and delegates for contributing so openly throughout the afternoon, and Arcadis for kindly hosting the event. If the themes explored resonate with the challenges facing your organisation or place, we’d love to continue the conversation.