Council middle managers: dinosaurs or key innovation allies?
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Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project
©Fu
ture
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Middle Managers: Dinosaurs or Key Innovation Allies?
©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project
Around 30% of senior managers in local government believe 50% of future savings will come from innovations
NLGN survey June 2013
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Innovation = New + Relevant
New ways of saving
money
New ways of
delivering
New organisational arrangements
New ways of improving democracy
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Previous research on innovation in councils• Interviews with chief executives• Focus groups with frontline employees• Interviews with leading politicians
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Middle managers’ focus groups in six councils
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Middle Managers’ Top Priority Actions for
Senior Managers & Politicians
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A clear long term strategic direction& innovation priorities
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“Build innovation into strategic objectives”
“Set a clear strategic direction – wider than own directorate and
the council”
“Identify areas where there may be opportunities”
“Identify things to stop doing”
“Be honest and clear about desired outcomes and stick
to them”
“Recognise that sometimes
innovations are not quick wins”
“Prioritise”
“Face realities”
“What will council look like in 5 years
time?”
“Don’t be overambitious”
“Members are too geared to the next
election”
“Accept what the financial situation
means”
“Start the hard conversations now”
“Put effort into the right places”
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Leadership for innovation, convincing,
personal communication
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“Communicate with and engage
staff”
“Take concrete action to
implement decisions”
“Empower and trust
staff”
“Go for it – leap forward when you know you have got to do something”
“Passion needs to be passed on”
“Senior managers need to be
visible, get out of their ivory tower”
“We need less control, more
support”
“We want listening, straight talking, trust building; more open,
honest communication”
“Sell the corporate
vision”
“Be brave & courageous”
“Provide clarity to the vision and expectations”
“Be united”
“Put members’ ambitions into a realistic plan ”
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Managers & staff involved in discussing innovations
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“Take the hierarchy out of innovation“
“Take a less top down
approach”
“There are too many top down briefings with no feedback”
“Make time for ‘walking the floor’, speaking to staff”
“Involve everyone in innovation”
“Managers need to keep talking to
people – not just sending out emails”
“Ensure you understand the ‘mood’ of staff”
“Demonstrate that you are
listening”
“Consult on ways of delivering outcomes to
encourage others’ views”
“We need more two-way, personal communications”
“Create opportunities for
meaningful engagement”
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Sufficient time & resources for developing innovations
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“Make time for creative
thinking”
“Invest to save”
“Ensure there are adequate resources to deliver the agreed priority schemes”
“Do less, but do it properly”
“Need to allow time to think,
reflect and engage”
“Create more time to think &
time to implement priorities”
“Free up time, we are the squeezed middle”
“Stop trying to do change on a
shoestring”
“Give us enough resources to get head above the parapet --
time away from the day job to look upwards
and outwards”
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An organisational culture that supports innovation
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“Acknowledge that there is lots of
innovation going on already”
“Make it clear that people
are allowed to fail”
“Push the boundaries, give
managers the flexibility to take
risks”
“We need to borrow ideas
from elsewhere”
“Allow the time to discuss & think about innovation”
“Support people when things don’t
go right”
“Encourage more
reflective practice”
“Be less risk averse”
“Encourage creative
thinking”
“Celebrate and promote
innovations across the council”
“Make innovation part of business planning &
PDR processes”
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Corporate services actively helping to deliver innovations
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“We need to make more effective use of technology”
“We need more flexibility within and across budgets”
“We need more digital innovation
within the council”
“We need less monitoring/control – & more support”
“Reduce the bureaucracy – our
policies and procedures are a major barrier to
innovation”
“Corporate services need to think about the impacts of their
decisions”
“We need to make better use of social
media”
“Review procedures and policies so they
support new approaches rather than stifle them”
“Key things like IT hold us back”
“We are forever being audited”
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Strong cross-service working on innovations
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“We need more joined up strategies and working between departments”
Departments have different priorities and don’t think about how
they impact others”
“Stop the silo mentality – things need to be more joined up”
“Senior managers are too focused on their own services -- they
need to be more corporate”
“We are removing silo working –
developing more shared goals”
“We need more middle managers
networking opportunities”
“We are learning from other services and sharing good
practice”
“We want more opportunities to
talk/network/exchange ideas/support and share resources”
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Persistence until innovations are achieved
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“Be consistent, don’t keep moving the
goalposts”
“Finish what we start -- before
moving onto the next thing”
“Follow through, do less & complete
projects”
“Complete cycles – reviewing, evaluating,
learning, improving – make sure there is space to do this – find simple ways to
do this”
“Ensure projects deliver”
“Make time for reviewing and
learning”
“See things through more”
“Set outcomes & stick to it”
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Agreement with previous research All agree about the importance of:Clear strategic direction, & clear priority areas for
innovationLeadership & convincing communication of the
priorities for innovationSufficient managerial capacity & resources to
develop major innovationsAn organisational culture that encourages
innovation, including tolerating risk taking Effective cross-council working on major
innovations
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Areas requiring more attention?
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More citizen & service user involvement in developing innovations?
More looking elsewhere for fresh ideas?
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More focus on partnerships & on commissioning for innovation?
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More effective delivery mechanisms?
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Middle Managers’ Development Needs?
• Working in a political environment?• Leading innovation processes?• Leadership skills?
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Other reflections
• What’s new and different?
• Trust: a key issue? • Middle managers:
‘dinosaurs’ or allies?• Rhetoric versus
reality?
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ConclusionMiddle managers are not ‘dinosaurs’ who fervently defend the status quo.
Potentially, they are vital allies for innovating senior managers and politicians.
To engage them, senior managers and politicians, need to consciously, consistently and determinately take a comprehensive, strategic approach to innovation, as set out in the Local Councils’ Innovation Framework.
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Citizen & Service user
Focus
Culture promotes
innovation
Effective delivery
mechanisms for innovation
Cross boundary
innovations
Strategic approach to innovation
Leaders & managers lead for
innovation
Clear political vision & priorities
Employees skilled &
motivated for innovation
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Resources The full research report on middle managers & innovation: http://www.solace.org.uk/press/2014-04-24-accelerating-innovation/
Local Councils’ Innovation Framework:http://tinyurl.com/LGIF2014
Framework Self-Assessment tool:http://tinyurl.com/LGISA2014
Summary of latest findings: http://tinyurl.com/LGILF2014
Presentations on innovation:http://www.slideshare.net/joanmunro
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Contact details
Joan Munro:joan.munro@btopenworld.com Tel: 0779 2952 498@JoanMICL
Susan Biddle:sjbiddle1@gmail.comTel: 0787 9548 877
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