As the Leadership Centre enters its second year of operation we want to share with the wider local government audience our thinking and approach to the leadership challenges facing authorities today: the challenge is as much about governance as government.
Over the last year we have been working with the top teams of a large number of authorities across England. Our work has been both discreet and discrete. There are no banners saying the Leadership Centre has arrived. Nor is our work standardised. Rather each engagement with an authority is different, tailored to meet the aspirations and challenges of that authority.
In addition to our direct engagement with individual authorities (and also with groups of authorities), we have also been creating the space for leading players in local government to critically reflect on their experiences.
One such exercise was a series of discussions and learning sets with a number of authorities that we undertook in the second half of 2005. These discussions have confirmed our views about the particular challenges facing local government leaders. This publication highlights some of those key themes and comprises our manifesto for leadership.
Our interest in leadership is not in leadership per se, but in creating change that results in better lives for citizens.