All organisations need good leadership. But what does good leadership look like for local authorities operating in a complex regulatory environment and when leadership is shared between members and officers?
The success of the leadership team depends critically on the relationship between members and officers. CIPFA’s technical title Leadership Matters (published in 2020) explores the dynamics involved and considers best practice leadership for local authorities. The book looks at six areas: Purpose and outcomes, Roles and responsibilities, Ethics and promoting good conduct, Risk management, Leadership capability and Stakeholder and employee engagement.
Leading Questions is a shorter, free publication that lists the questions asked against the six areas. This will enable an authority to do a top-level self-assessment on their leadership team but for a more in-depth assessment CIPFA suggests this publication is used alongside the full title.
It has been produced for the benefit of subscribers of the CIPFA Better Governance Forum to support their leadership teams or reviews of governance arrangements.
Leadership Matters is available for purchase on the CIPFA website.