I’ve had a lot of open, honest feedback about what gets in the way of you doing your job, and also good ideas about what could help us all meet the challenges ahead. Thank you for all of it.
I am using this information to develop in more detail supportive, effective ways of working, based on seven principles. In brief:
- One Council Approach, One Place Approach: Systems Thinking
- How can we work across service and professional boundaries more, as a council, and a public sector, to meet challenges we share?
- Purpose and mission focus
- Using the priorities councillors will set for the council, and the aim agreed by community planning partners for the area, to direct decisions and set expectations for what we do; using well defined objectives, and being clear on when issues need to be escalated, to make it easier to deliver projects effectively.
- Employee empowerment
- When we are clear on objectives, allowing you to get on and deliver, using your skills and ingenuity, knowing when you need to flag things that are going off track.
- Data and evidence driven decision making
- How can we turn the data we all hold into information that will help us make good choices and decisions?
- Learning Council: Growth Mindset
- Trying new things, learning from what works and what doesn’t
- Agile
- Making it easier for you to do your job e.g. do we need to produce as many strategies and plans as we do just now, or could fewer, more joined-up strategies be just as effective? Finding ways to break down bureaucracy for example looking at how we can reduce the number of meetings and internal emails.
- Maximise opportunities that technology offers
- How technology can support our day-to-day work, and help us come together, to get things done.
I would ask everyone to think about this – how could these principles help you?
If you have questions or comments about any of this, I would love to hear them – please do tell me at workingtogether@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Pippa’s Podcast
This is Refugee Week, so a good time to find out about how the council is working with other organisations in the area to ensure that those who need it, find a welcoming home in Argyll and Bute. You can listen to the podcast on the council website
And well done to…
A member of the public contacted the council this week to say – “I would just like to thank the two men who uplifted my household waste this morning. The service we get is great and not always fully appreciated.”
The differences we make to people’s lives are sometimes obvious, and on a grand scale. Often however, the help employees provide is for one person at a time, and this kind of effort, while equally important, can go unnoticed.
Our refuse collectors, Raymond Park, Licensing Standards Officer, Tommy Mclean, Crematorium Registrar, and Aileen McNicol, Leadership Support and Member Services Manager – over the past while, the council has received thanks from individual members of the public for the positive difference they each have made.
The work we do together is important, and matters to the area as a whole, and also individual members of our communities.
Thank you for the difference you are making.
Have a great weekend.
Pippa