There can be very few local government middle managers who aren't 'aspiring' for at least a part of their day. The word has come to be used as shorthand for 'capable, effective and ambitious', and the idea's been embraced by plenty of organisations working around and within the public sector.
A quick bit of research will uncover a number of programmes designed and led by commercial consultancies, many of which will undoubtedly add some value to career potential. But local government itself offers one of the most popular options, with SOLACE designing and delivering a well-established and successful programme aimed at "middle managers who are ready to step into senior leadership roles". The course materials promise a complete package of targeted development, designed specifically for public sector managers ready for their next career step, and the programme's been developed in consultation with and the (increasingly influential) management network of SOLACE.
But what's the reality of being an aspiring senior manager? How can you get authentic and honest insights into what you need to develop to the next stage, or even what's actively holding you back? What do courses like this actually do for aspiring managers, and are they worth the investment of your training budget; and perhaps more importantly these days, your time?
Andrew Odgers has run the Future Leaders course since 2009, and identifies several drivers which are coinciding to make this kind of professional development the preferred choice of authorities and individuals. There's a strong retention driver here, as well as succession planning for lower-cost and lower-disruption transition, when an existing cadre of leaders move on or away. So budgets committed to developing the leaders of the future definitely comes under the heading of 'invest to save'.
"These people are typically the engine of the organisation" he says, " and the chance to get their heads up and think strategically can be exceptionally valuable. It also allows them time to explore issues in depth with a peer network that they didn't know they had."
And there are significant changes of mindset on the journey between successful middle manager and director or assistant chief executive. On the practical level, many new joiners are taken aback when Odgers asks them to switch off their phones for the two days of a module – though, he says, "by the time they get to the second module they see that time as precious and focused – they're converted!"
More fundamentally, participants often feed back that they hadn't realised that leadership needed to be such a considered activity, or that inspiration was so crucial an element of successful leadership – particularly now. "For many, the most valuable thing they take away is a greater sense of their own agency as a leader, a deeper understanding of how leaders create their own motivation, and insight into how they mesh their own style with that of their followers," says Andrew.
For a sector in rapid transition from stewardship to leadership, the increasing success of initiatives like his couldn't be better-timed.
