Date post: | 28-Jul-2015 |
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Member officer relationships
www.local.gov.uk
“Let’s be friends”Officer/Member relations
PAS Spring ConferenceBirmingham
Seltzer ColeLGA Associate Consultant
“Introduce a 'Presumption against Interference' in the planning system with residents acting as quality control, rather than officials. Change of Use restrictions should be limited to clear externalities, and local plans should be drastically stripped back – no density targets, or top down regulation of minutiae like car spaces, bike standards or the number of hotel rooms. If less than half of the people in the immediate vicinity object, planning permission should automatically be granted subject to appropriate compensation.”
Policy Exchange 'Economics Manifesto' (February 2015)
Planning 'under siege'
Both are committed to public service
Both try to deliver quality planning services
Both deal with the same customers
Both face the same/similar challenges and constraints
Both have a community leadership role to play
Officers & Members: they're all in it together
The political environment, especially on planning issuesSense of mutual suspicionBalancing competing interests/demandsExternal pressures/challengesFurther complicated by:
Cabinet/scrutiny relationsCabinet/backbencher relationsAdministration/opposition relations
Cultural differences
However, things sometimes go wrong. Here's why:
“They have a tendency to be obstructive.” “I don’t trust them.” “What exactly is it that they do?” “There’s always a legal reason to not do what we want.” “They’re totally risk averse when it comes to regeneration.”
“The council would work much better without them interfering.” “They have a tendency to let politics gets in the way.” “Slagging us off in public reduces public confidence.” “They get ambushed by a resident complaining about the new
Tesco, then come and give us a kicking.” “They’re totally risk averse on developing brownfield sites!”
A sense of mutual suspicion
Policy
Range of 'influencers'
Self
Values
Beliefs
Friends
PartyGroup
Image
Cost / VFM
Risk
Priority
TimingImpact
BenefitsLeader
Electorate
Senior officers
Social/Media
Wife/Partner
Colleagues
Manifesto
Resources
Family
Religion
Opinion polls
Professional Officers reports
Community leaders
Pressure groups
Past experience
Staff
Current events
Me
Member/Officer cultural differences
Characteristic Politicians Managers
Values and philosophy
Political and party values Professional and managerial values
Conversation and language
• ‘What do you hear?’• Storytelling about real
events• Interests and symbols
• ‘What do you know?’• Reports based on data,
information, money, people and things
Authority and career • Representatives who make choices
• Political allegiances, experience and promises
• Power• Conflict, compromise,
change• Rely on votes
• Experts who organise and deliver
• Professional experience, credibility and fit
• Knowledge• Harmony, co-operation,
continuity• Rely on position
Performance • Respond to the public wanting practical results in the shortest time
• Respond to performance indicators and longer term
A commitment to the local planning authority as an
entity in itself, rather than to individual political group(s)
A mutually beneficial working partnership
A timely response to enquiries and complaints
Professional advice, not influenced by political views or
preference
Integrity, mutual support and appropriate confidentiality
Reasonable member expectations of officers
Political leadership, direction and understanding of
the planning process
A mutually beneficial working partnership
Distance from the day-to-day management of the
authority
Not to use influence or pressure to gain special
treatment for themselves or others
An understanding of the need for work/life balance
Reasonable officer expectations of members
Division of labour
Politicians Managers
Leadership Lead role Negotiated role
Management Negotiated role Lead role
Management deals with complexity – making happen what should be happening.
Leadership deals with change – making happen what wouldn’t normally happen.
What areas of leadership should managersengage with and what areas of managementshould members engage with, in planning?
'Leadership vs Management'
Invest in the relationship
Establish protocols based on exemplary behaviour
Recognize different strengths and perspectives
Be clear about roles and responsibilities
Emotional Intelligence
Partnership working based on:
Mutual respect
Honesty
Openness and transparency
Ground rules for success
Acknowledge that conflict is inevitable (Humans!!!)
Identify the source(s) and cause(s) of the conflict
Avoid 'bad communication'
Agree a commons set of values, goals & purposes
Use established procedures, 'institutions', channels & forms only as a last resort!
What to do when things go wrong
Action plan: 'less conflict, less 'competition', more collaboration'
“A collaboration is a purposeful relationship inwhich all parties strategically choose to cooperatein order to accomplish a shared outcome….
….You are a collaborative leader once you haveaccepted responsibility for building – or helping toensure the success of – a heterogeneous team toaccomplish a shared purpose.”
Hank Rubin, President – Institute of Collaborative Leadership