Entries with tag leadership .

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Blair McPherson
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13 Jul 2015 - 11:26

null To Kill a Mockingbird

So it turns out that Atticus the great liberal lawyer had racist views in latter life. That the character that inspired a generation to make a difference was not so different a Southern man. That the story as told by Scout was seen through the eyes of a naive young child who hero worshiped her father. Do all children grow up to realise their parents are imperfect? Is it inevitable that... See more
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Blair McPherson
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01 Jul 2015 - 11:19

null Muddle through Management

The muddling through model of management has a more negative sound than its popularity would indicate. It's proponents tend to refer to this way of managing as common sense, pragmatic management or the "lets not get carried away here and keep it simple", alternatively the approach is described as a quick fix.  The method is to respond to all problems without any deep thought or to use the... See more
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Blair McPherson
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26 Jun 2015 - 14:34

null Recruiting,Retaining and Rewarding Talent

Managing talent was about recruiting, retaining and rewarding now it's about redeployment,redundancy and retirement. Prolonged austerity has challenged traditional ways of recruiting, retaining, managing and rewarding talent. Public sector organisations have been shrunk. Early retirements, redundancies and management culls have been the key feature in workforce strategies. Experienced staff... See more
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Blair McPherson
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23 Jun 2015 - 10:33

null Shirkers v Workers

Some people defiantly work harder than others. Some just give the impression they do. Some managers think they can identify the shirker from the worker unfortunately for them it's not that easy and getting it  wrong could cost them their job. How much of your work involves telling people what you are doing- at meetings, in updates for the boss or reports to the Senior Management... See more
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Blair McPherson
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16 Jun 2015 - 12:27

null The rise of the member led authority

The rise of the member led authority There has been a dramatic change in local government and I am not talking about budget cuts, management culls or outsourcing services. Where once councils were officer led now the politicians are very much in charge. Of course we always maintained there was a clear distinction between the leader of the council who managed the majority party and the chief... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
15 Jun 2015 - 09:47

null Is Chicago the dream or the nightmare

Devolution for England's big cities provided they have a directly elected Mayor is the offer. It's the U.S. Model. Will Birmingham or Leeds be the next Chicago? What have we to look forward to? Chicago's Town Hall politics are notorious.  There is no doubt the Mayor of Chicago is a very powerful position. The city is responsible for Housing, Education, Police, transport infrastructure and... See more
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Blair McPherson
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15 Jun 2015 - 09:59

null It starts when you're always afraid

My dog has bad dreams I hear him crying in the night. He is not alone. Sometimes when he is asleep,lying on his side, I see his legs moving I hope he is chasing a squirrel  not running for his life. I wonder after such energetic dreams does he wake up tired, I know that feeling. I had this recurring dream. I would be awake but too afraid to open my eyes. Alone in bed but not alone. To... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
06 Jun 2015 - 13:30

null Put on the sunnies and don't let the seagulls steal your chips

  As we neared are destination the sat nav helpfully suggested we, "Put on the sunnies, wind up the window and watch the seagulls don't steal your chips". The sat nav came with an Australian accent. Helpful Australians are every where at the moment. The sunny disposition of our colonial cousins from down under is a welcome intrusion into the post election depression with in the... See more
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Blair McPherson
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03 Jun 2015 - 14:28

null Who's the Boss?

There are two types of boss, idiots and tyrants. Obviously there are few who are competent and supportive but then they have a boss who isn't. Either your line manager is impossible or senior management don't know what they are doing. There are lots of reasons for this, over promoted, lacking relevant experience, too concerned with keeping the politicians happy, obsessed with performance and... See more
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Blair McPherson
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02 Jun 2015 - 15:05

null How many managers have you got?

It's a typically challenging question from the new leader of the council. The underlying implication is too many whatever the answer is. The honest answer is I don't know but that is an unacceptable answer and makes me look foolish. The correct answer is it depends how you count them but that just sounds like I am trying to be cleaver and risks antagonising my new boss. I could say 500 because... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
01 Jun 2015 - 12:24

null You don't like me and I don't care

I have heard this said a few times, by a leader of the council convinced that further management post could be cut from the organisation, by a chief executive determined to bring about a "culture change”, by a director insisting he wouldn't be dissuaded from imposing a restructuring and by a team manager who just wanted the team to know who was boss. In all cases it came from some who thought... See more
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Blair McPherson
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28 Apr 2015 - 09:05

null Devaluing the MBA

It isn't fair to expect people applying for senior management posts to have an MBA yet refuse to fund any of your own employees to obtain the qualification. It isn't fair but it is the reality in Local Government and I suspect most of the public sector. MBAs are incredibly expensive ( to those of us who come from a different era) and budget cuts mean training budgets have been slashed, smashed... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
20 Apr 2015 - 15:19

null The Thinning

The public sector is being thinned, local government is being thinned, thinning creates anxiety and uncertainty, distrust and suspicion,  a constant threat of decline, alongside a sense of loss and a feeling that all is not right with the world. There is yet no end in sight of the thinning but the impact of 5 years of savage budgets cuts, redundancies, outsourcing and management... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
08 Apr 2015 - 16:37

null Not the Game of Thrones

There is a constant threat of decline, accompanied by a pervasive mourning and sense of wrongness in the world. There are kings and king makers, trial by combat, scheming and betrayal and a delicious habit of bumping of the biggest stars. This is not some medieval fantasy or an episode of Game of Thrones this is the modern day public sector in a time of prolonged austerity. Temporary... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
01 Apr 2015 - 16:29

null The Public Sector's dirty secret

The senior management team were experimenting with an open plan office. Senior managers were often still at a hot desk when others had gone home. So the cleaner had to clean round us. Our regular was a young girl called Helen. She told us her mother got her the job, her mother and father both worked as cleaners here in head office. She still lived at home.We progressed beyond "hello" to... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
24 Mar 2015 - 11:16

null DIY Management

When it comes to DIY my ambition and confidence don't match my skill! Newly married and in our first home we had little money. The house was classic 1930's, the bathroom very dated. My wife thought some new bath taps, a new shower curtain and a bright colour on the walls would be the kind of makeover that would see us through till we could afford a new bathroom. I was confident I could fit... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
20 Mar 2015 - 11:43

null The Crisis Team Meeting

This was one of those team meetings, the kind where grievances are aired and frustrations expressed. Whether intentionally or not there's always the risk of being undermined as the manager. I've been here before as a team manger of front line staff, as a head of service and as a director. On one occasion it was a bad inspection report, on another a serious allegations of wide spread abuse and... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
16 Mar 2015 - 15:37

null Why do some people make such good managers

I'm very fair, I give them three chances then that's it. I wanted to find out what "it" was. I don't think she meant she sacked them although she could have meant she had them transferred to another department but I think she meant she gets tough with them. I couldn’t pursue the conversation as the disco kicked in and some not seen very often relatives joined our little group prompting a... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Mar 2015 - 12:58

null Business is bad.Business is good.

The public sector aims to be more business like. Business is finance driven. The numbers don't lie. The numbers tell their own story. Fiddling the figures, everyone does it. It's ok as long as it not illegal. It's ok as long as you don't get caught. Getting caught is an occupational hazard. Success is measurable. What gets measured gets done. Targets motivate. League tables identify the best.... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
09 Mar 2015 - 12:37

null Time to go

Four former colleagues have decided to call it a day. They will leave at the end of the financial year. Officially they are taking early retirement but as they are all under 60 they don't consider themselves to be retiring. They still feel they have something to offer. Like so many other public sector managers their departure was advanced by continued budget cuts necessitating a further cull... See more
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