Council middle managers: dinosaurs or key innovation allies?

Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

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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


Innovation = New + Relevant

New ways of saving

money

New ways of

delivering

New organisational arrangements

New ways of improving democracy


Previous research on innovation in councils• Interviews with chief executives• Focus groups with frontline employees• Interviews with leading politicians


Middle managers’ focus groups in six councils


Middle Managers’ Top Priority Actions for

Senior Managers & Politicians


A clear long term strategic direction& innovation priorities


“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”


Leadership for innovation, convincing,

personal communication


“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 ”


Managers & staff involved in discussing innovations


“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”


Sufficient time & resources for developing innovations


“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”


An organisational culture that supports innovation


“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”


Corporate services actively helping to deliver innovations


“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”


Strong cross-service working on innovations


“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”


Persistence until innovations are achieved


“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”


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


Areas requiring more attention?


More citizen & service user involvement in developing innovations?

More looking elsewhere for fresh ideas?



More focus on partnerships & on commissioning for innovation?


More effective delivery mechanisms?


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?


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.


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


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

http://www.solace.org.uk/press/2014-04-24-accelerating-innovation/



http://tinyurl.com/LGIF2014

http://tinyurl.com/LGISA2014

http://tinyurl.com/LGILF2014

http://www.slideshare.net/joanmunro


Contact details

Joan Munro:[email protected] Tel: 0779 2952 498@JoanMICL

Susan Biddle:[email protected]: 0787 9548 877

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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