Group, chamber and cabinet
The political group, the chamber and portfolio leadership.
- Level
- Bitesize
- Learning time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Where
- Being a Councillor
- Price
- £39
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
Overview and Outcomes.
Overview
This module examines group life and the council chamber: what a political group does, what is visible and hidden within it using a framework adapted from the Johari window, and the stakeholders pulling on every decision. It covers loyalty and conscience, the whip and its limits in quasi-judicial decisions, Baddeley and James's owl, fox, donkey and sheep, roles beyond cabinet, scrutiny as leadership and the craft of making the chamber work. This module explores the move from ward to cabinet, where a portfolio becomes a promise to the whole area. It examines why a council's two top teams do not fit the textbook, drawing on Hambrick and Mason's Upper Echelon Theory. It sets out the portfolio holder's five threads, the line between political and managerial leadership, the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, what makes policy land and a first hundred days plan.
What you'll develop
In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:
- Describe what a political group does, and use the adapted Johari window to read what is visible and hidden in group behaviour.
- Identify where the whip does not apply, and plan how you would dissent well when loyalty and conscience collide.
- Assess political behaviour using the owl, fox, donkey and sheep, and compare how backbench, scrutiny, opposition and chair roles carry influence.
- Explain why a council has two top teams with shared legitimacy, and how the cabinet team brings members and officers together at the strategic point.
- Distinguish political from managerial leadership, applying the principle of deciding the what and trusting officers with the how across the five portfolio threads.
The Modules.
1 hour 15 minutes of learning.
- 04The Political Group and the ChamberThis module examines group life and the council chamber: what a political group does, what is visible and hidden within it using a framework adapted from the Johari window, and the stakeholders pulling on every decision. It covers loyalty and conscience, the whip and its limits in quasi-judicial decisions, Baddeley and James's owl, fox, donkey and sheep, roles beyond cabinet, scrutiny as leadership and the craft of making the chamber work.36 min
- 05Into Cabinet: Portfolio LeadershipThis module explores the move from ward to cabinet, where a portfolio becomes a promise to the whole area. It examines why a council's two top teams do not fit the textbook, drawing on Hambrick and Mason's Upper Echelon Theory. It sets out the portfolio holder's five threads, the line between political and managerial leadership, the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, what makes policy land and a first hundred days plan.36 min
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereBitesize, 1 hour 15 minutes, £39
- Next stepFocus, From ward to cabinet, 3 hours, £69. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £30.
- The whole topicExplore, Elected to serve, 5 hours 30 minutes, £129. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £90.
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. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Also part of: Leading from the front bench
