Leading for Innovation: Solace Innovation Research Oct 2015 long version

LEADING FOR INNOVATION:

Solace Innova7on Research 2015 Interim

Findings

Joan Munro Accelera7ng Innova7on in Local Government Research

Project

October 2015

©Accelera7ng Innova7on in Local Government Research Project

Councils selected for in-‐depth case studies


What were the leaders in these councils doing that appeared to be helping to achieve more major

innova7ons?


Being bold, ambi7ous, united and passionate ©Accelera7ng Innova7on in Local

Government Research Project


“Whatever the challenge is, if we are all really signed up for it we will make it happen.”

“Poli=cal and managerial leaders are clear and united about their objec=ves, and how they intend to achieve these.”

“We recognised that we had to do

something en=rely different to survive and to achieve our goals.”

“Members are really up for change. They don’t try to micromanage: they focus on strategic issues. They

are pragma=c, realis=c and mature. They don’t blame

you when things go wrong.”

“We’ve a united leadership, with a single change

programme. There’s a single narra=ve,

everyone involved in the 26 strong extended leadership team would

give you the same story.”

Crea7ng the culture for innova7on



“The mayor wants the city to be a ‘laboratory for change’

and a ‘test-‐bed for new ideas’. He wants to develop

‘pioneering prac=ces which will not only benefit this city, but will hopefully become a model for ci=es around the

world’.”

“We encourage people to think differently. We need everyone to judge their performance against the

contribu=on it makes to the wider system, not just to the

organisa=on’s performance.”

“Culture is crucial. We allow people to be the voca=onal

public servants they wanted to be. We encourage explora=on and curiosity. We try to give people confidence. Nothing is

a daN idea. We work out whether it is doable.”

“You have to reframe your thinking. We start by considering: what’s the challenge, and what’s the

purpose of this service? And then, given the challenge, and the purpose, does the structure make sense?”

Resourcing innova7on processes



“We put our money where our mouth is. Even if the partners that will benefit from the changes are not convinced an innova=on is worth inves=ng in, we will

invest in something we believe in, and involve our partners in the

evalua=on.”

“It takes =me to achieve behaviour changes. For

example, our early interven=on approach should save cost in acute services, but it won’t happen immediately. So currently we are using our reserves to pay for ‘double

running’.”

“The council employs around 35 people in its ‘Futures’ service, led by a

‘Director of Futures’ who reports directly to the chief execu=ve. It’s an unusual grouping, but it works well. We have brought in income of more than 20 =mes the cost of the service.”

Developing more innova7ve leaders



“If you need to work not just harder, but smarter, you absolutely have to have the right calibre of people at every level. We have been very very choosy about who we recruit.”

“We’ve invested lots of =me and money on leadership

development, par=cularly on developing skills in leading

across organisa=ons, collabora=vely and

collec=vely.”

“We want to create entrepreneurial leadership in a public space. We need to be humble, to be prepared to unlearn, as well as to learn. We need emo=onal resilience and some=mes be prepared to go out on a limb when others are scep=cal.”

“We make sure ‘the right people are on

the bus’.”

Building innova7ve partnerships, working in new ways ©Accelera7ng Innova7on in Local Government Research Project


“You have to understand what you are good at, and not over specify in your contracts with the private

sector. Set out your basic principles, have respect for your partners’

exper=se.”

“People work in a much more ‘system leader’ type of way now. If you want to get partners into the room,

sharing their resources, and sharing their skills, you have

to work with them differently.”

“We have built our alliance incrementally. We don’t

overpromise. If we had set out what we have achieved now as a vision, I don’t think people would have signed up for it. When our ini=al priority areas were a success, confidence grew. Now we can be much

bolder.”

“Rela=onships are key. Taking =me to have honest conversa=ons with partners and providers. Building credibility and trust by doing what you said you

would do.”

Moving with pace, despite uncertain7es ©Accelera7ng Innova7on in Local



“We can live with the risk of failure because doing nothing is

the biggest risk of all. Whilst in the short term doing nothing will keep us rela=vely safe, in the long term we know it will burn us because the days of stable service have

gone.”

“We’re comfortable with risk as long as we have clearly iden=fied what the risks are, and have ways of mi=ga=ng them. We have learnt a lot about

risks.”

“The chief execu=ve tells managers: ‘If you believe it is

the right thing to do, do it. Don’t talk about ideas forever, take ac=on, and learn from it’.”

“We didn’t have a proper evidence base for se\ng up our new offer but we believed it would work, so we went ahead with it. We were bloody-‐minded. We were willing to jump off that cliff whether our parachute

opened or not.”

“Four years ago, if you had described the changes we have gone through, with the pace that we have gone through them, I

would have said, I don’t think we can achieve that.”

Understanding & involving residents



“Leaders across public services need a relentless focus on what is best for

communi=es and place, and not on what is best for the organisa=on. And how can

we do it all with less resources.”

“You have to really listen to local people. Each town is

different. You can’t tell them what to do.”

“Our agenda is in=macy. We value our communi=es. We

want to get close to them. We go out there and explore. We

make sure we really understand issues.”

“Our organisa=onal development philosophy is ‘outside in change’. Disrup=ve innova=on tends to come from

outside, not from staff.”

“The members and the chief execu=ve are totally focussed on the people they are delivering

services for. They really understand the local popula=on’s needs.”

Engaging employees ©Accelera7ng Innova7on in Local



“Innova=on happens through people. We need people the right mindset and the right

behaviours.”

“We aim to make sure everyone is connected to the purpose, and the right mindsets and behaviours are being demonstrated.”

“To join up two councils, people have to know what is going on. The bin opera=ve has got to know as much as

a senior planner.”

“We try to take the workforce with us, to explain why we

are making changes.”

“The biggest future transforma=on will be achieved not through digital means, but

through changing the way people work.”

Learning from elsewhere



“We’ve learnt from best prac=ce, in the UK, as

well as from Amsterdam and New Zealand.”

“We have got beber at iden=fying when we need help and commissioning it in a =mely way. Previously there was a bit of reluctance about looking for external help. People felt that ge\ng someone to come in and help us was a sign of weakness. We now recognise that we need support from people who are

catalysts for change.”

“We’ve grown our interna=onal team from one half =me person to three or four people. That

gives us =me to follow up on the interna=onal opportuni=es. The

mayor is interna=onally focussed, he’s proud of the fact that he is the most travelled

mayor in the UK.”

“We pick up ideas and support interna=onally – from the U.S., Australia, France Denmark,

conferences, and tech companies. We’ve had fantas=c support for example from New

York City in building our volunteer programme. It’s

priceless.”

Using ‘more agile’ processes



“If our aim is to develop ini=a=ves and move forward on it

collabora=vely, it doesn’t necessarily have a beginning, middle and end, wham! You need a model that is based on a cycle of orienta=on, ac=on, reflec=on, reorienta=on,

ac=on, reflec=on, reorienta=on. And that is more akin to the agile

methodology.”

“We’re taking a collegiate approach, with weekly mee=ng that drive the work forward. We are

exploring, feeling our way forward, towards a

clear goal.”

“We run ‘hot house’ sessions for a day or two off site. We invite lots of

diverse people, cri=cal friends, sector and industry leaders, people from the private and public sector. They look at how we might achieve our outcomes, and save costs from

all angles and come up with a solu=on.”

“Programme management works on the premise that on day one you know what you are going to deliver. We know approximately the outcomes we want to

achieve, and the trajectory, but we only plan for the next

one or two steps.”

Being disciplined, focused & determined, ensuring delivery



“We’re relentless. We say it, we do it. We set =mescales, and we meet them. We get money from external bodies because we have a reputa=on

for delivery.”

“We started by deciding on our priori=es. We have gone with

some things and parked others-‐-‐-‐we’ll deal with them in the future. It’s really important to decide what not to do.”

“Regardless of people not being signed up – we were

going to do it.”

“Poli=cians are very reliable here. They don’t make capacious decisions, and they don’t change tack. If

they decide they want to do something they s=ck to it. That is really important for confidence. Partners and

investors like that.”

“Focus, focus focus. Always set clear =melines, be obsessed about it. We keep our foot on the pedal. We don’t allow things to driN. We have a

robust performance management system. We chase

people a lot.”

Reflec7on on findings

In previous studies many councils were: •  Taking a piecemeal approach to innova7on •  Achieving mostly small scale innova7ons in services

Some naïve approaches e.g.: •  Just encouraging everyone to “be crea7ve” •  Asking frontline employees to produce relevant ideas in a vacuum


In this 2015 study More taking a comprehensive strategic approach to innova7on with: •  United leaders redefining the council’s purposes & how it operates

•  Clear innova7on priority areas •  Time & resources earmarked for innova7on •  Significant innova7ons with partners •  Experimenta7on & considered risks •  Considerable efforts to engage residents


Ac7ons more could take

•  Develop more exper7se in innova7on processes

•  Make employee engagement a priority •  Seek more disrup7ve ideas and support from outside and abroad

•  Commission external services for innova7on •  Cut low priority frontline services to create more capacity for innova7on


The Local Councils’ Innova7on Framework: a checklist for leaders


Ci#zen'&''service'user''

focus'!

Culture'promotes'innova#on''

Effec#ve'delivery'

mechanisms'for'innova#on'

Cross'boundary'innova#ons'

Strategic'approach'to'innova#on'

Leaders'&'managers'lead'for'

innova#on'

Clear'poli#cal'vision'&'priori#es'

!

Employees'skilled'&'

mo#vated'for'innova#on'

For the full version of the latest Framework see: hbp://bit.ly/1KOacAD

Resources •  The new Solace case studies:

hbp://bit.ly/1OvJaEe •  More presenta7ons on innova7on:

hbp://www.slideshare.net/joanmunro

•  NESTA Innova7on Skills Bank:hbp://www.nesta.org.uk/develop-‐your-‐skills

•  Design Council service redesign process:

hbp://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-‐opinion/design-‐process-‐what-‐double-‐diamond

[email protected] @JoanMICL


Government & Nonprofit

Leading for Innovation: Solace Innovation Research Oct 2015 long version