Toward the chief executive role
Corporate leadership, statutory roles, finance and place.
A full day on the road to chief executive: the corporate turn, top teams and statutory officers, political acumen, money and assurance, place-shaping, and the chief executive's role in practice.
- Level
- Immerse
- Learning time
- 10 hours
- Where
- Strategy and the future
- Price
- £249
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion, or Certificate of Completion and Assessment with a short assessment
Overview and Outcomes.
Who It's For
Directors, deputy chief executives and aspiring chief executives in local government
Overview
Each step towards chief executive changes what is asked of you. The first part of the flagship Leading the whole begins with the corporate turn through Michael Watkins's seven shifts and Katz's three skills, then the top team and statutory officers. It turns to political acumen with Baddeley and James's owl, fox, donkey and sheep, and elections. Money and assurance follow, with the medium-term financial strategy, Northamptonshire County Council and the corporate peer challenge, then place-shaping and the verbs of partnership leadership from Dr. Jonathan Huish and Dr Amanda Milliner. It concludes with head of paid service, James Svara on the leader and chief executive, culture and grip, and appraisal.
Aims
The intention is to prepare directors to lead the council rather than a service: thinking corporately, working confidently with members and statutory officers, playing their part in financial strategy and assurance, and shaping a credible story of place that residents will recognise.
In summary, you will be able to:
- Explain the corporate turn from service leader to director and chief executive, using Watkins's seven shifts and Katz's three skills.
- Use political acumen and Baddeley and James's model to work confidently with members through elections and new administrations.
- Plan your part in the medium-term financial strategy and in place-shaping, drawing on the Northamptonshire case and the verbs of partnership leadership from Dr. Jonathan Huish and Dr Amanda Milliner.
What you'll develop
By the end of this Immerse, you will be able to:
- Explain why the move from head of service to director is a change in kind, using Goldsmith's insight, Watkins's seven shifts and Katz's three skills.
- Describe the duties of each statutory officer, including the section 114 report, and what a director owes each of them.
- Outline the transition cycle around an election, including what pauses and continues in the pre-election period and how officers stay politically neutral.
- Identify the main sources of assurance and judge how much weight to give each, recognising which are independent.
- Describe the seven shifts and the four faces of the chief executive's job, including the statutory basis of the role in England and Wales.
- Distinguish political and managerial leadership using Svara's four dimensions of mission, policy, administration and management.
- Explain how culture is shaped by what leaders tolerate, and identify the three markers of a healthy risk culture.
- Outline how a council chief executive is appointed in England and Wales, including the roles of member panels and full council.
Built from 7 parts.
10 hours of learning.
- 01Joining the top teamThe corporate turn, collective responsibility and statutory officersBitesize · Becoming a Director3 modules
- 02Reading the politicsPolitical acumen and political transition for directorsBitesize · Becoming a Director2 modules
- 03Money and challengeThe medium-term financial strategy and external assuranceBitesize · Becoming a Director2 modules
- 04Your first 100 daysPlace, partners and the director’s narrative, with case studiesBitesize · Becoming a Director2 modules
- 05Head of paid serviceThe move to chief executive, the statutory role and the leaderBitesize · Becoming a Chief Executive3 modules
- 06Team, culture and gripBuilding the top team, culture and assuranceBitesize · Becoming a Chief Executive2 modules
- 07Place and accountabilityThe chief executive and the place, appointment and appraisalBitesize · Becoming a Chief Executive2 modules