an evaluation of a public sector leadership development ... · pdf filean evaluation of a...

An Evaluation of a Public Sector Leadership

Development Programme

Leadership in times of Austerity

Report for UFHRD: Research Honorarium Middlesex

University

2012 – 2013/14

Dr Mary Hartog, Chris Rigby and

Dr Doirean Wilson,

Middlesex University Business School

Middlesex University June 2014

Middlesex University XXX

Contents

Summary ............................................................................................................................ 6

Introduction and Background ........................................................................................... 8

Theory and Practice......................................................................................................... 10

How literature has informed the design and evaluation of this programme. ............. 10

Research Methodology ................................................................................................... 13

Findings and Discussion ................................................................................................ 15

Summary of Findings Research Question 1 .................................................................. 15

Summary of Findings Research Question 2 .................................................................. 24

Summary of Findings Research Question 3: ............................................................... 30

Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 36

Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 40

Dissemination of Findings .............................................................................................. 40

Expenditure ...................................................................................................................... 41

REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 42

Appendix - Participant Project Titles ............................................................................. 43

Middlesex University XXX


Summary

The Research Project and Context

The aim of this evaluation was to explore and reflect upon the experience and impact of a

leadership development programme for a group of managers from a London Borough,

Children and Young People’s Partnership. 48 managers participated in the programme in

three cohorts between June 2010 and May 2011. A further cohort took part in 2012. A total

of 60 managers have since graduated with a Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and

Management. The programme was designed and delivered in a partnership with Hay

Group and Middlesex University. The context for this programme was organisational

change necessitated by austerity in public service finances. The leadership programme

aimed to help managers deal with change and develop their leadership effectiveness.

The Research Questions

The aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of the Leadership Development

Programme. In response to feedback from UFHRD we narrowed the focus of the research

from our original six questions to three core questions listed below.

What is the interplay between the context of the cuts, change and uncertainty in the

public sector and the programme?

How do participants talk about and reflect upon their experience of the programme

in relation to their leadership skills and effectiveness?

What is the impact of the programme and its capacity to add value to the

organisation and the leadership of programme participants?

Key Findings

Austerity has shaped the context for learning and leadership development.

The experience of the programme has been positive for participants and in

particular, the role of the ALS’ has provided a safe space for reflection and the

containment of anxieties in the midst of turbulence and change.

The programme has added value to individual managers and their work teams, and

in particular, it has helped participants in crafting and clarifying what is important

about leadership to them in their work.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank UFHRD for awarding us a small grant which we have used to fund

this research project. It has been particularly helpful in paying for transcribing interviews


and bringing participants in the organisation together for focus group discussions. We

would like to thank our client organisation for supporting this project, especially the

Workforce Development Manager who has facilitated access to participants and the

organisation. Last but not least, we are especially grateful to the participants who have

participated in this research and who have shared their experience and stories with us.


Introduction and Background

Between June 2010 and May 2011, 48 managers from a London Borough Children and

Young People’s Partnership took part, as three cohorts, in a leadership development

programme designed and delivered by Hay Group and Middlesex University. In 2012 a

further cohort took part, resulting in a total of 60 managers graduating with a Postgraduate

Certificate in Leadership and Management. This evaluation focuses on the experience and

impact of this programme for the first three cohorts.

The aim of this programme was “….to provide leaders and managers an opportunity to

enhance their core leadership and management skills and competencies, share best

practice, develop their ability to achieve effective performance from the children and young

people’s workforce and foster good working relationships for effective collaborative

working. It is hoped that this will help secure a competent, confident and strong team of

leaders and managers across the Children and Family Services Partnership, with the

relevant skills and knowledge to drive change and lead integrated services and

practitioners from varied professional backgrounds.” (Director of Children’s Service, 2010)

The organisational context for this programme has been challenging and remains so. This

is largely due to austerity measures reducing local government finances, resulting in

budget cuts both within the authority and to grant funding for voluntary sector project

partners. Austerity has led to the closure of some services, redundancies and

organisational restructuring and change. Additionally, significant change in the

organisation has taken place at the level of the senior team in the Directorate. During the

commissioning of this project there was a change of Director and Deputy Director in the

senior team. A number of senior practitioners in the department also left. Later on, the

senior team was joined by a new Head of Social Work.

In 2011/12, the authors worked with this newly established senior team to familiarise them

with the tools of the programme and to assist them in their own development. All the

members of this team have since left the authority or moved into other posts in the

organisation. They were replaced by new senior team in 2013.

In 2013 we were asked by the then Head of Social Work, to provide follow up support to

16 of the graduates with responsibility for social work and family intervention work to

further facilitate their development and manage change. The follow up took the form of

action learning in small groups and one to one coaching. We are currently (June 2014)

delivering the leadership development programme for another 16 managers and a further


16 are due to begin the programme shortly. We are now starting to work with the new

senior team to help the organisation move forward and embed the leadership development

programme in a broader HRD agenda. We are hopeful that lessons learned from this study

will be carried forward into this work.

Programme Design

The programme was designed with the following features: 360o psychometric feedback on

individual leadership styles, organisational climate survey, an individual motives

questionnaire and a series of training and development workshops, delivered by Hay

Group. These were complemented by ALS’ (ALS’) and assignments made up of reflections

on professional learning and reports on work based projects. These were facilitated and

supervised by Middlesex University. We refer to this form of integrated learning based on

an in-company training and development programme, supported by academic provision as

a ‘wrap around’ programme, leading to a Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and

Management.

The programme begins with a core three day workshop designed to help managers

understand the impact of their own behaviours and attitudes on others and help identify

ways of becoming more effective at work. The main focus here is to increase self-

awareness as a first step to improving personal effectiveness at work. The design of the

programme aims to enable all participants to go on a journey of personal change through

the provision of 360° feedback about their behaviours from a selection of people in their

team. It involves self-assessment as well as assessment by other people and provides an

opportunity to look at perceptions of current behaviours and to evaluate these, identify

what has got to change and how in order to increase personal effectiveness.

The diagram below illustrates the integrated design of the programme - the ALS’ underpin

the workshop programme, with the action learning meetings spread across the life of the

programme and the three assignments linked to the three ALS’. Between four to six

participants were brought together in small peer groups to form ALS’.


Figure 1: Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Management Framework

Source: Hartog and Frame, in association with Rigby and Wilson (2013: Fig 29.1, pp.206)

Theory and Practice

How literature has informed the design and evaluation of this programme.

Following Revans (1983) we have utilised action learning to reinforce the taught content in

the workshops, combining the benefits of ‘programme knowledge’ with ‘questioning

insight’, an important feature of the reflective process of inquiry that takes place in the

Action Learning Set. The work based project serves as a vehicle for the development of

the individual participants in their leadership and management roles, giving them the

opportunity to apply and test out some of their knowledge and insights in their practice.

Building on Revans, in her approach to action learning Weinstein (1995) employs the idea

of ‘a journey of discovery and development’, in which the project serves to validate the

learning drawn from real work issues and challenges. We found this analogy useful to

share with the participants on the programme. We have coined our approach ‘Learning

from the real’ (ibid), since our design for learning aimed to help the participants grapple

with the issues they brought to the learning sessions, addressing their individual and


collective leadership and management development needs, rather than the more

traditional classroom based teaching about leadership and management in the abstract.

Additionally we were informed by the approach to action learning of Vince and Martine

(1993) and Reynolds and Vince (2004), whose work highlights the organisation of

reflection as a collective endeavour, rather than solely the reflection of individuals.

Moreover, their approach supports a critical turn toward action learning utilising reflection

to explore and identify the impact of power, politics and emotions on the practice of

leadership and management. This was helpful to some of our the ALS conversations as

the impact of austerity triggered anger and emotional distress. Our aim as facilitators was

to support and help participants navigate the dilemmas and tensions they were

experiencing in this volatile political organisation environment.

We also shared Wenger’s (1998) theory of social learning and communities of practice

with the participants, particularly where team learning and collective responses to

organisational change was needed. This seemed to us to be relevant to this work, since

social work is itself a distinct community of practice and how people become

professionalised in this area of work relies on the learning, meaning and identity that

emerges from this setting and what is taken for granted in this cultural milieu.

As part of our own journey of development and discovery (as facilitators), our

understanding of the public sector context, through the work of Hoggett (2006), has been

valuable. Hoggett reminds us of the contested nature of public service and its purpose

where on the one hand there is a traditional ethos of public service and on the other, a

tension created by the modernisation agenda of economic efficiencies balanced against

service and social justice. He cautions of the danger of ‘throwing the baby out with the

bath water’, highlighting the wicked and intractable problems managers and leaders in

public service face. This seems particularly relevant to our study in the context of

austerity. Picking up this theme of local government as a contested space and the

application and use of action learning in the public sector, the work of Rigg and Richards

(2006) has also helped us see how there is a contested weight of expectations in the

evaluation of action learning, in the extent to which it is regarded as a performance or

development activity. In other words, what carries more weight with the various

stakeholders - behaviour change or some other personal or leadership development

outcome?


One aspect of critical literature that has been insightful has been that of discourse theory

as applied to leadership development. Mabey (2012) in his review of leadership

development activity has served to broaden our understanding of this programme in how

we now think and talk about leadership development and the different expectations in

respect to its design, purpose and evaluation. The four paradigm perspectives (Figure 2),

which in their purest form are incommensurate, enable us to see more clearly what the

different elements of a programme’s design are intended to do (or can contribute to). I will

return to this in the discussion of findings, as these perspectives may also provide a way of

looking at what is taking place in ALS’.

Figure 2: Four Discourses of Leadership and Leadership Development

Ford, Harding and Learmouth (2008) provide further insight and critique, using discourse

theory to critique leadership as a performative function that serves to shape the identity of

individuals and leadership itself. They regard the language of leadership as problematic

and point out that the very act of naming brings to life that which it describes. They remind

us that leadership is itself a product of social construction that perpetuates the ‘great man

theory’ contributing to individual perceptions of a heroic ideal leadership of what leadership


should be, serving more as a fantasy than a reality that can result in a form of psychic

anxiety in leaders and managers about their performance and identity as leaders as they

are pulled between the ideals of what leadership should look like and the wicked and

intractable problems of organisational reality. They argue that the uncritical design of many

leadership development programmes serve to reinforce and fuel this anxiety. Moreover,

they are critical of psychometric tools and caution us to be aware of their limitations,

arguing that they provide a narrow lens through which to reflect, act and evaluate

leadership behaviours.

Research Methodology

Following the award of the honorarium from UFHRD and the feedback from the Panel

about the scope of our research proposal we refined our focus of enquiry and methodology

as follows:

Aim: To evaluate the impact of the Leadership Development Programme

Research Questions

RQ1 What is the interplay between the context of cuts, change and uncertainty in

the public sector and the programme?

RQ2 How do participants talk about and reflect on their experience of the

programme in relation to their leadership skills and effectiveness?

RQ3 What is the impact of the programme and its capacity to add value to the

organisation and the leadership of participants?

The client undertook regular evaluation in the form of a feedback questionnaire distributed

to participants after each training workshop and ALS meeting, enabling Hay and Middlesex

to make adjustments or improvements to sessions based on this feedback as the

programme progressed. Additionally, the client collected periodic feedback during the

programme to get an overview of participant reactions and perceived value of the

programme over a longer period. The overall impression from feedback given by

participants in response to the client questions suggested that the programme had beena

a positive experience. However, the programme was coloured by the impact of the

recession and the subsequent cuts imposed on local authority expenditure and therefore


we were keen to drill deeper to understand more fully the interplay between the cuts and

the programme, in particular what value our contribution to the programme made, and

specifically the value of the action learning experience to the participants.

Research and evaluation in this project are linked. Whilst the research questions provide

a systematic framework of enquiry the overarching questions of evaluation help us reflect

on whether the programme has been a worthwhile intervention. In considering this we are

informed by Easterby- Smith’s (1994) model and the three functions of evaluation - ‘Prove,

Improve and Learn’, which ask the questions: 1. Has the programme delivered what it says

it is going to? 2. Where is there room for improvement? 3. What is the learning from this

intervention?

Our approach to evaluation is qualitative and developmental. To move beyond the

reactions of the questionnaire feedback sheets and to consider both individual and

organisational benefits from this programme over a longer time-span we have also drawn

on Hamblin’s (1974) model of ‘Levels of Evaluation’ which builds on from the immediacy of

feedback reactions from the training event to consider the impact on the individual, their

job and the organisation.

Our methodological approach was qualitative using interviews and focus groups and

utilising thematic analysis of recorded transcripts. Additionally, we have further analysed

our findings drawing on discourse theory as applied to leadership development (Mabey,

2012). Applying discourse theory has enabled us to think and talk more critically about

leadership and leadership development. Moreover, the multiple discourse perspectives

have helped us reflect on the design and evaluation of this intervention, and appreciate the

tensions that stakeholder expectations of this programme can be expected to deliver.

Research activity involved:

• One hour semi-structured interviews x 15

• One Focus group

• 2 interviewers

• Each interview was recorded then transcribed

• End of course evaluation questionnaires

• Reviewing participant assignments to assess impact of work based learning and

development during the programme

• Informed consent obtained from participants


The interview schedule was designed using the three questions, which were also used as

a conversational guide in the Focus Group, and used later in the process of thematic

analysis. Whilst the interviews and a review of projects sampled have proved to be useful

sources of data, the focus groups have not added the same value. Scheduling the

interviews also proved challenging as staff were busy with key change projects which

expanded the time frame in which data was gathered. In hindsight, using the same

framework of questions as the interviews for the focus groups was not ideal, compounded

by the fact that one of the focus groups was scheduled on a day when redundancy notices

were handed out. This had an inevitable impact on participation and for the conduct of

that focus group as the discussion turned toward supporting individuals rather than

conducting an enquiry.

Findings and Discussion

Summary of Findings Research Question 1

Exploring the interplay between the cuts and the programme our findings reveal how

redundancy and reorganisation has shaped the context for learning and leadership

development. Emergent themes include:

1. Risk of Redundancy & how it feels

2. How people reacted

3. The relationship between uncertainty and anxiety

4. Change, loss and consequences

1. The Risk of Redundancy and how it feels

The risk of redundancy and cuts affected staff both in the local authority and in partner

agencies. Particularly affected were youth services and non-statutory children’s services,

including play groups and children’s centres that received funding through local

government grants. The first round of redundancies began with ‘at risk’ letters being sent

to all staff in the autumn of 2010. This coincided with the early part of the programme for

Cohort One, creating a period of uncertainty before decisions were finally made about how

the service would be reorganised, which jobs would be lost and what and who would be

left on the 31 March 2011.


With the exception of those working in core statutory social work teams, risk appeared to

be affecting everyone. The practice of issuing ‘at risk of redundancy’ letters to everyone

appeared to confirm this. This section draws out the sub themes under this heading.

Hopefulness and desperation

The data presents a picture of two sides to this experience of risk of redundancy, one

where there is a feeling of hopefulness and the other, one of desperation.

Sponsorship and political support

Shaping the service was the vision of ‘early intervention’, a strategy for working with

‘troubled families’, known to the service and who can take up significant resources over

time. Early intervention is seen to be a cost effective way of saving monies in the long term

by intervening with these families early on to facilitate good parenting and prevent worst

case scenarios. The following quotations come from two managers whose teams were

involved with this work:

“So, over the period of the first six to nine months of the course, although it was

uncertain for my team, the situation was never as black as it was for others because it

was very high on the agenda for the director that putting in place a team of people,

practitioners working with families, was his vision for the future.”

“All of my team and myself were at risk of redundancy from early December...the early

intervention grant was coming to an end and we didn’t know the allocation” ... “I think, I

was relatively hopeful about my staff and their posts because I knew the agenda had

quite a high profile politically and locally, but there were no givens” ...”I think all I could

do was try and be hopeful without offering any promises because I knew it would be

about the local political agenda here and I knew that that is what my team would be

instrumental in operating...The MAGs (Multi Agency Groups) was something our

director was very excited about.”

Dislocated and desperate

By contrast, another manager describes the experience between the moment of getting

the ‘at risk’ letters and the point at which notification was given of having lost your job, as

being one of “dislocation.” She said:

“It felt as if we were on the edge of a precipice, just waiting to see what would happen”;

and she went on to say: “People’s lives were pulled apart. How would they afford the

mortgage? Would they get other jobs? How would they educate their children? As well

as looking for other jobs, they had to re-apply for their own jobs and to fill in a million


forms of application. It felt demeaning.” She described the atmosphere as: “numb,

desperate and grey.”

A hierarchy of risk and cuts

Commenting on the political nature of the decisions one manager said “of course we would

never think there was a hierarchy or anything like that, but of course there was a hierarchy.

There was a definite hierarchy.” Confirming this view another manager said:

“the director was very, very keen that the CAF (Children & Families) and Early

Intervention, was the way the Children’s Services was moving.” However, the future of

Children’s Centres was not secure: “We knew there were Children’s Centres that were

going to be closing and they were young low paid staff and that was quite difficult.”

Referring to youth services she said “I work quite closely with colleagues in the youth

services and they were traumatically affected and it was hard to say goodbye to people

that we had worked with, specifically with staff who were working with and supporting

schools.”

On the programme the risk of redundancy was palpable

“Being on the course we were aware that some of those people wouldn’t have jobs by

the end of it. So, it (the risk of redundancy) was very much ‘there’ when I was doing the

course.”

Feelings about leadership

The context of risk and redundancy heightened feelings about how leadership was

experienced by both the managers themselves and their leadership relationship with their

teams. One manager described this as feeling she:

“Wasn’t being led very well.”

In the same vein another manager revealed that she had raised her need for leadership

with her manager:

“When I was doing the modules the staff felt comfortable but I didn’t from higher up and

I think that was my opportunity to say “Well hang on a minute, it’s a two way process

here. You’ve got to give me something. You have to give me that leadership and

management as well. If I am not getting that, then how can I do it with my staff? So, I

was quite proud of myself.” The same manager had also expressed a desire to hear

from her staff, and reflecting on a conversation she had with them said: “I am not an

ogre. I want to know how you are feeling, especially in this situation, please talk to

me.”


Caring and feeling cared for

Commenting on the need for reciprocity - to care and be cared for - this manager said:

“I am nothing without my team. Now, I can have an idea and think oh, I am wonderful, I

can go and do this but you cannot do it without others. It is the mutual ‘I care, you

care. If I look after you, will you look after me’? It has to be. You have to fill up at the

gas station. You have to be able to keep going and that is done by the dynamic and

keeping it healthy.”

Discussion - The Risk of Redundancy and how it feels

The risk of redundancy and its significant to the background of this leadership

development programme is supported by the evidence. The comments regarding those

who felt and experienced hopefulness and those who experience desperation would

suggest that the direction the organisation was taking in respect of early intervention and

multi-agency teams was clear for some participants on the programme (clarity of vision

from senior leadership), whilst others felt much less clear about their future, with the most

extreme cases describing their feelings as being akin to being on the edge of a precipice.

In the context of organisational change there are winners and losers. Whilst government

cuts reduced the overall budget, political and strategic decisions about how to reorganise

services creating long term benefit for work with families through early intervention was the

way forward.

That the risk of redundancy was very much there during the programme certainly reflects

the climate that participants experienced and which we witnessed in our work with them.

That it is described as feeling palpable by one of the respondents conveys well the sense

of uncertainty present in the organisation and alive to everyone whether they were to be

personally affected by redundancy or not.

Anger and loss provide an indication of the emotional climate that participants were

exposed to. The comments, not being well led and not being cared for, suggest that some

participants felt abandoned and left with adequate leadership during this process of

change. Linked to this one respondent uses the analogy of filling up at the gas station,

which indicates a need to address the capacity of individual leaders and managers to be

resilient and for senior leaders to provide support in building resiliency down the line.


2. How People Reacted

That people reacted differently to the cuts and change taking place around them is

perhaps in itself not surprising. With winners and losers there are gains and losses and

depending on where you worked in the organisation or partnership, the experience could

be very different.

Business as usual

For some it was business as usual, as this manager describes:

“For me and my team it was business as usual, mainly, the usual turbulence, a few

posts that are hard to fill where you might have locums, and they change, but I had a

full team.”

Setting up new teams

Others were busy forming new teams and getting new projects up and running. Referring

to the distress of those around who were facing redundancy, one manager said:

“I had so much to do to be honest with you because I had to recruit this brand new

team... and write all the policies and procedures. I had to start this team from scratch

and I didn’t have time really to get bogged down in what was going on.”

Concern for survival

For those at risk of redundancy their experience and preoccupation concerned survival for

themselves and for the service they were responsible for. As the following quotation

indicates, managers are pulled between their personal concerns and those for a service in

which they have invested a significant part of their professional lives and which may

survive in some shape or form, with or without them.

“So, it has been a nightmare year and the whole time you are thinking ‘will I have a

job’? You might have felt this yourselves (referring to the interviewers, who also worked

as tutors on the programme) ... I had to stop thinking about how this is going to affect

me and look at how it is going to affect the service and what does that mean for the

service and how are we going to fight to keep the services, regardless of whether I am

here or not, what is in the best interests of the service. It has been so hard because

you come back to yourself. Well you do, obviously, because you think: ‘I’ve got a

mortgage to pay, I‘ve got bills, what can I do to save my own job’? So it has been a bit

of a battle in- between what I can do for me and how I can protect the service.”


Fighting for the service

Fighting for the service was a common response that came up in the ALS’ and formed for

a number of participants the topic and purpose of their practice project. (An example is

provided in a forthcoming book chapter, Hartog and Tomkins, 2014).

Being philosophical about finding another job

Being a qualified social worker provided some people witha greater sense of security that

if they were to be made redundant they had something tangible to fall back on.

“I’ve been through a lot of restructures in my years in local government and I’ve got

social work qualifications, so I felt, ’ well, if I lose my job, I will get some agency work

for a while and see what happen ... I think personally, I was quite philosophical and

tried not to let it get in my way.”

Discussion - How People Reacted

Even in times of change organisations business as usual continues to some degree. At

least for some this was the reality, even where it involved the setting up of new teams,

such as the multi-agency teams (MAG’s). For these managers it was a matter of keeping

their heads down and getting on with the job. Others were concerned for survival. For

some it was keeping their own job, whilst for others, it was their service area or project, as

well as themselves that they were concerned to ensure survived the changes that were

taking place in the organisation. Thus, fighting for their part of the service became the

primary concern for some managers and leaders on the programme. For some qualified

social workers the prospect of losing their job was not necessarily a major cause for

concern. Compared with other staff they had more options, such as agency work. For

others concern about how they were going to pay their household bills and pay their

mortgage was a major cause for concern.

3. The Relationship Between Uncertainty and Anxiety

Uncertainty about the cuts, whether funding would be found for projects, what the chances

of employment were for individual managers and their teams was significant. For some the

level of uncertainty fuelled deep personal anxieties that undermined their functioning and

performance in the workplace as this phrase/quotation illustrates “Will I be next?”


Asked what was happening for her in the context of the cuts and being on the programme,

one manager described vividly how worried she was by the spectre of cuts and how it

played on her mind.

“I am not doing very well. My team isn’t doing well because where I thought I was

spending time with them I am not spending time worrying about the impact that this has

had on me. Then of course worrying, ‘well, actually, if I am doing a really rubbish job

does that mean I am going to be cut next? ...” “It felt like the span of control of the

people I was managing was reducing. They were still employed; they were there in the

corporate centre, which made me feel like I wasn’t doing a very good job because they

were being taken away and managed elsewhere. Of course, that was happening

across the organisation. It wasn’t about me and I see that now, but not at the time.”

Empathy for others

Notwithstanding personal anxieties some felt able to show great empathy to others. One of

the voluntary sector managers spoke about her experience as though putting herself in the

shoes of her staff colleagues:

“I knew how I would feel. It made me think, well how would you feel in their situation

when you weren’t being told anything...”contrasting this feeling with her own position of

distress of not being able to participate in the interviews and selection of her own staff

because her own post was also subject to re-application and appointment. “It was hard

enough for me not being included in that interview process and picking my staff and

finding the right staff for the job.”

This case was such that staff simply didn’t know, even if they were to be re-appointed,

who they might be working for or working with. What is striking here is that HR recruitment

and selection practices contribute to the levels of uncertainty and anxiety expressed, whilst

following procedures and processes designed to ensure equality and fairness yet failing to

address the feelings of staff already in distress.

Anxiety in the collective consciousness

In one interview a manager revealed how she doubted her own sanity in this period and

described anxiety as a product of the collective unconscious.

“I am not entirely sure that I was that sane during that period. I think you get caught up,

unless you are very careful, in the collective consciousness, the anxiety.”


Discussion - The Relationship between Uncertainty and Anxiety

The uncertainty of not knowing whether you were going to be made redundant fuelled

anxiety in individuals and the organisation, with some individuals wondering ‘am I going to

be next?’ In some cases, the re-organisation and moving of staff to other areas of the

service compounded this anxiety. Some reported how they felt for others facing the

prospect of redundancy. The evidence suggests anxiety had permeated the collective

consciousness of the organisation and getting caught up in thisor some individuals had an

impact on their sense of security and wellbeing.

4. Change, Loss and Consequences

The cuts invariably resulted in considerable change which affected people in different

ways. Inevitably in redundancy situations people lose their jobs. In this case, it was not

solely that individuals were leaving but that whole teams and distinct parts of the service

were to go.

Making People Redundant

The following is a flavour of how some of the managers described and talked about loss.

“So, we did have to make a lot of people redundant. All of us went through a

restructure and we all had to reapply for our jobs, even the Children’s Centre staff. So,

it was obviously a very difficult time that we were going through.” This manager told us:

“When I first started the programme there was 20 of us, now there is nine.”

Losing relationships and professional contacts

A manager working in the voluntary sector said:

“Working with the teenage pregnancy strategy the whole SRE team just went. A lot of

the arts side here in the partnership also went. The youth workers were decimated.

The key people are there. I have good relationships with them and have over many

years, but there is this undercurrent of loss and if you don’t deal with that loss, grief can

be very destructive in many ways” ... I am saddened that I’ve lost relationships that I

had built up, which I have not been able to maintain either because they just felt too

tender or because I have not had the time and never thought I would be in that

situation. That you would know where people go, that you would maintain contact and

that continuity.”


Workload and stress in the system

Even where the cuts did not directly fall there was evidence of stress in the system. One

manager whose team was not directly affected by the cuts recalled what it was like for him

and the team he worked in:

“I wasn’t affected by the redundancies or the cuts. It seemed to have bypassed my

team that I work in. We work in Safeguarding, so I guess that is deemed a high priority

area and the cuts didn’t touch it at all............In terms of what was going on for me and

my team at that time, I remember it being quite a hectic period. I think we were going

through a period of change, some staff were leaving so that made things more

pressurised in terms of workloads. It was a little bit of a stressful period to start a

training programme. That is how I remember it.”

Challenges for day to day working

On a practical note, a real challenge for day to day workingdescribed by managers was

that of staff turnover affecting continuity of work and as highlighted earlier, relationships:

“ You are dealing with that churn of people...you might have a group, people who are

part of a working team and then the next meeting down the line, say three months later,

they are not there. So, there is an immediate challenge for day to day working.”

Another reflected on the challenge of changing their place of work and moving into a

corporate environment from an old building based in the local area: “So we moved to

The Business Park ...... which was paperless and making huge use of technology, in a

way that all of us had not been used to before... people complained about it, the

building feeling anonymous and impersonal.”

Discussion - Change, Loss and Consequences

One might describe the sense of loss as systemic. It would colour the learning for many

participants on the leadership programme. Redundancies and re-organisation meant for a

number of the participants they had to reapply for their jobs. One of the consequences of

change was the loss of working relationships and professional contacts such as the

example of the teenage pregnancy services. The youth service was particularly hit hard

by redundancies, some would say even decimated. Perhaps not surprisingly, workloads

transferred to others during this period. Staff turnover, described as: the churn of people

had a knock on effect on teams such as, safeguarding, who were protected from

redundancy.


Summary of Findings Research Question 2

How participants talked about and reflected on their experience of the programme in

relation to their leadership skills and effectiveness.

Emergent themes include:

1. That the 360° feedback on leadership styles along with the three core development

days on strategy and change had the greatest impact in participants learning about

leadership and their own leadership styles

2. The role of the ALS’ provided a safe space for reflection and the containment of

anxieties in the midst of turbulence and change

3. The assignments provided an opportunity to embed the learning in the work

1. 360° Feedback and the Core Development Days

Feedback from managers about the usefulness of the 360° feedback has been extremely

positive, giving them the opportunity to learn about themselves.

Helpful in becoming more aware

“It helped me. The feedback from the staff was really helpful and very challenging to

start with. ....When we did that first questionnaire, which I gave to two senior staff (one

who was on the way out) was strange...... I couldn’t understand the scores.........and

that was interesting, because things I saw as totally insignificant were obviously a big

deal to them and it brought it home to me as well. I consider myself to be a good

people person, to be quite sensitive to the needs of others and that brought home to

me that I was missing out on a lot and not picking up on things.” “One of the

statements....was that I take things too personally. I thought that was spot on. But I

would never have said that about myself.”

Powerful – changing behaviour and doing things differently

“I think the 360° feedback was very powerful and I did really learn and think about

doing things differently from that.”

Seeing things differently - a different perspective

“It was very interesting to see the feedback forms. I had this idea that I was a really

directive, stroppy old boss who set really strong targets, and actually, I think my team

think I’m a pussy cat.........that made me relax a little, and realise, maybe I could ask

them to do more.”


On the same note, another said:

“I always thought I was a good leader but it just made me think about how I was

holding them back.”

Finally, one manager described the 360 as akin to “having the staff input to the course.”

“It opened my eyes, it was like a descriptive noise, that helped me to think - if that is

what they are thinking then this is what I need to do to move on.”

Discussion - 360° Feedback and the Core Development Days

For a number of participants the 360° feedback served to raise self awareness, reminding

participants of things they already knew but might choose not to reveal about themselves.

For others, it facilitated a change in behaviour, in other words, doing things differently and

for others, seeing things differently, resulting in new insights to their leadership style and

behaviours. It was described as powerful by participants, opening their eyes and helping

to point toward change that they needed to make in their own leadership behaviour.

2. The Role of the ALS’

ALS’ comprise of small learning groups of circa 5 managers who in this case met on three

occasions during the life of the programme, with a university tutor/ facilitator to: explore the

challenges of change and austerity that presented in their work, identify personal and

leadership development needs, and undertake a live work based or practice project work

in which they could stretch themselves, apply learning from the programme and that would

add value to themselves, their team and service are. For many of the managers this was

new learning experience. However, social work managers remarked on the similarities

between the action learning process and their experience of using reflective practice and

supervision in their work.

A new learning experience

For a number of participants this was new learning experience for them, one which took a

bit if getting used to. But once they were over this newness they found it to be a useful

and supportive learning process, as indicated by the following comments:

“I’ve never experienced anything like that before and I thought initially they were a bit

weird. If I can be perfectly honest, I have had the opportunity to speak so frankly and

openly. I found it a bit uncomfortable initially but that is because I wasn’t used to

talking in that way............and then by the end, I found them really, really, useful.”


Commenting on her first ALS another manager said:

“When I walked in, I thought, I don’t understand why I am here, what is going on? Then

when we all started opening up and talking, listening to the others and their experience,

what they were going through. ...........Just to have that voice, somebody else saying to

you, you are doing something right. You are good at this and maybe you should think

about it this way.”

An emotional experience

For some participants the action learning experience was emotional in that they were able

to share feelings and anxieties about what was happening as result of the cuts and the

organisational changes. It is not unusual for ALS’ to provide a container for distress and

emotional feelings, or a space in which these feelings may be explored in the context of

the political organisational context in which change is taking place. Commenting on this

process one participant said:

“I think the learning sets were fantastic. It was a really useful way of internalising and

thinking about it (the cuts and changes) and how it was impacting on us. It was a

hugely emotional experience in many ways, but so valuable.”

Another said:

“I think actually having that experience really helped me to deal with it (cuts) because

at the time, I was quite thrown and upset about it........I can see that later on I actually

got all the changes I asked for.........When I sat down with people in my learning set

they all had quite similar experiences and I think it was just hearing it and getting

reassurance ... it was part of the process and it was learning from that and standing

back and thinking about some of the forces that were at play.”

Space to think

Crucially, participants reported the significance of the ALS’ in providing them with a space

to think. One manager reflected on the benefit saying:

“If I had that conversation with someone on a daily basis, then maybe, I would be able

to think more strategically about what I am doing and why I am doing it.”

Another said:

“I think for me one of the most immediate impacts was that I would go away thinking: I

have just had that time to think!”

Another expressed her frustration at not having such a space when the programme came

to an end:


“The most frustrating thing was coming away from the course and then not having that

time. The action learning groups we had were so invaluable just to have that space,

that thinking space...to sit, think and talk and reflect...consider what you are

doing............ and what you might be doing.”

One manager said:

“I thought the ALS’ were really good. It just gave a forum and a space to discuss

thoughts, some of which were quite personal experiences...I thought that was useful

because you don’t have time to do that in any other capacity, and it gets you thinking

as well.”

How the learning is organised

Whilst the process may appear at first, informal, the learning and more importantly, the

reflection is organised to facilitate learning. Building on the value of creating a space to

think, we asked, ‘what was it about the action learning process that she thought made it

work’? This manager commented,

“I think, one, it was the structure, even though it is an informal space, it was

actually structured, in that you are coming here and in this time we will explore

what has been happening...that little space to think and focus your mind and then

having other people there that help you reflect.”

A guide to the academic work

Another manager suggested that the action learning guided and helped focus on the

academic work (the assignments). More so than what she called the therapeutic side:

“I think in some ways the ALS’ probably helped guide the academic side more than the

therapeutic. There was a bit of that. I was expecting it to be more therapeutic, sharing

information but actually, it wasn’t. It was a bit more focused in some ways which was

fine. It wasn’t necessarily what I was expecting but it was helpful.”

An opportunity to talk about how you feel about the work

For another it was:

“I found the ALS’ really useful..............................This is an opportunity to talk about

how you feel about the job, the work. Obviously, there has to be some confidentiality,

the feelings that it evokes. If you can do that and get that out of the way, then you can

do the rest of the work so much better, I think.”

One manager talked about how the conversation in the Action Learning Set helped her

think about the need to move on:


“I was looking at workloads for my team and what that meant and if I could make things

easier..... What I came up with in the end was I couldn’t really change much but I

probably needed to move on, which was where I was.”

Bonding

The sets also served to facilitate bonding and camaraderie, key to helping managers learn

from one-another and lead and manage in challenging and changing circumstances. For

some participants this bond extended beyond the course itself.

One participant described the experience as follows:

“ALS’ were enormously helpful in bonding. So, there was a great deal of honesty and

sharing of skills. In my particular set we had a loss of one person who got another job,

gone. So, I had that on the inside and I had my chair on the outside losing her job and

doing the same course, as well.......Just having the delight of not to put a pretence on

about the quagmire I think that we all found ourselves in and the learning that went with

it.”

Asked about the highlights of the learning experience the above manager went on to say:

“I have a special relationship with everyone who was in the set now. I am an

experienced manager, the others were more junior to me and I felt I had something to

offer both with the course context and outside of it.”

Discussion - The Role of the ALS’

Traditional action learning utilises a work based project as a vehicle to assist learning and

stretch the leaders’ ability to grapple with and manage their new roles (the task). There is a

danger however, that the action project may be overly valued as the end product, missing

the opportunity for deep learning that a balanced process of reflection can facilitate when

properly regard as a vehicle for learning. With effective facilitation, learning takes place in

the Action Learning Set through a process of reflection and inquiry.The learning set as we

have seen can also provide a container for feelings about work and in this case, the

challenge presents buy change and austerity to the participants. As the evidence has

indicated the structure provided in our ALS’ has provided a valuable space to think, a

guide to academic work and a space where feelings can be explored without turning into a

pseudo therapy session. The action learning relationship requires both support and

challenge. This would seem to have enabled some strong bonds and relationships in the

workplace to develop, that have continued outside of the programme.


We experienced and witnessed whilst facilitating the ALS’, an outpouring of anger and loss

which invariably coloured the learning experience for many participants. Our response as

facilitators was to support participants (as described above) giving them permission to talk

about their experience in the learning set and write about it in the context of their

assignments.

Additionally, we drew on our knowledge of change theory to help participants better

understand the issues and change processes that were live for them at both a personal

and organisational level. The work of Ibarra, on career transitions and the work of Kubler-

Ross, on loss and bereavement, were some of the academic references /resource that we

shared on the programme. When we first began facilitating these ALS’, we were

somewhat unprepared for the extent of the feelings that were expressed of loss and anger.

We were concerned for the participants that they should not become overwhelmed by the

distress these feelings evoked and neither did we want to find ourselves overwhelmed by

them and unable to facilitate the work. Recognizing this, we engaged a supervising coach

to facilitate our tutor team during the programme to help us work more effectively and to

learn together about how to facilitate action learning in this context.

3. Assignments embed the learning in the work

The programme required participants to undertake three work based assignments. The

first involved a review of learning, the second a stakeholder analysis and the third a work

based project. A typical example of how managers used and applied their learning from

the programme workshops was to take ideas back to their teams and incorporate them

into team building and development days. For some managers this kind of activity

featured as a basis for their assignments:

“I actually did a team day, where I included one of the modules within the team day and

got them to say what they felt they were (based on Belbin team roles), which was

brilliant because I could then understand them better and their thinking.”

Discussion - Assignments embed the learning in the work

The example of running a team day as illustrated above was a typical activity that

participant reported undertaking in the ALS’, drawing on lessons they had learned on the

programme, such as team building. Indeed, team activity was used by participating

managers most successfully on the programme as a form of communication management


and as a means of supporting employees during the major organisational change,

restructuring and redundancy process.

Similarly, experimenting with using power and influence to mange up the hierarch,

particularly during the period of budget and resource allocation, was also an activity

reported in the learning sets and featured in assignments. Indeed, one example reported

to us in a set meeting and again during the interviews, was of a manager trying out her

new found negotiating skills with a union representative, reputed to be a difficult character.

To achieve his co-operation on a particular issue, she reported having courted him and

getting him to buy into a strategy outside of the formal meeting space, so that come the

meeting, he was with her as opposed to being against her.

Summary of Findings Research Question 3:

When participants judged the impact of the programme and its capacity to add value to

the organisation and their leadership, emergent themes include:

1. Managers who participated in the programme reported an increased confidence in their

ability to lead and manage and moreover, less fearful of doing so as a result of the

programme

2. Linked to the above managers reported a greater ability to let go and delegate, and in

so doing, improve their work loads and WLB

3. Work based projects revealed both evidence of personal development for individuals

and in some cases specific leadership behaviour change. Additionally, some projects

provided evidence of benefit and added value to the teams led by participants on the

programme

1. Increased Confidence in Leading and Managing People

Developing confidence and self belief is one of the personal outcomes that a number of

managers reported. It is an important outcome that is reported as adding value primarily

to the person but there is also a benefit to the organisation. It is perhaps an example of a

soft return on investment but one that makes a difference to how people feel about their

ability to lead and manage as a direct result of their experience of the programme. One

manager summed how the programme has made a difference to her as follows:


“I think it is about confidence and self belief. I think that underlines it all for me. I know

I can do it now, and I know how to do it, and probably, two years ago I would not have

said that, not at all. So, thank you.”

Benchmarking and discovering extra tools

One manager described her increase in confidence stemming from now being able to

benchmark what she did previously and having a few extra strings to her bow:

“It is about giving you that confidence that you are doing the right thing and you are

doing it in the best way. Like most managers I’ve just got on and I’ve managed for

years and no- body has told me how to, I’ve just done it. It’s quite nice to know that

some of the things I was doing were OK but I now have a few extra ways of doing the

things now. I now have the confidence that I can have those difficult conversations. I

still don’t like them but I don’t lose a week’s sleep over them anymore. I’ve learned to

be very clear with people. I’ve learned that actually pussyfooting around and not

saying it, actually, doesn’t help at all.”

Shared terminology and recognising what you are doing

Developing this idea of benchmarking what you do compared to others one manager

talked about how their confidence was increased by learningnew terminology on the

programme and having a shared language that helps you recognise and name what you

have being doing:

“So, I think I have gained a little bit of confidence, whereas I might not have got that

had I not been able to compare and hear other people’s accounts, and to hear this is a

model that we use. I didn’t know what coaching was until I came to the training and I

didn’t know I do it on a regular basis. I think my team scored me the highest in that

area..... The legacy is I’m a bit more confidant now... you can’t buy that.”

Addressing the problem

Another facet of increasing self confidence in people management was described by one

participant as learning how to use one’s role and authority:

“I wasn’t addressing the problem because I didn’t know how to because I lacked the

confidence. I didn’t know how to use a management role to do that. That was a big

thing. I was able to replace them with people I interviewed that i wanted to be working

with, people that I could trust to do the job.”


Seeing leadership in others

Noticing how others behave differently and with greater confidenceis another example of

how value has been added by the programme. Commenting on colleagues in her team

who also completed the programme, one manager said:

“I can see some changes in them in terms of them feeling much more confident as

leaders. They are senior in their role and I think they were able to build up better

relationships. Like I was saying, I’ve built up good relationships with the group, I did x

with, and they have done the same. I see interactions between them and my

management colleagues that are much more appropriate, so maybe people could see

that with me..”

Discussion - Increased Confidence in Leading and Managing People

Confidence and self-belief were overwhelmingly the most generic benefits reported by

participants that they gained from this programme. As we can see from the comments

made, this is about how participants feel. In that respect it is difficult to measure but it

should not be underestimated how important if not essential to leadership confidence and

self-belief is. Critical leadership literature points tot the dark side of identity formation in

leadership development as we strive toward an idealistic or heroic style of leadership and

the often unrealistic expectations and pressures that can bring. Moreover, critical

leadership theory points to the role of discourse theory and language bringing what it

describes, into being, and reminding us of the socially constructed nature of leadership.

The majority of participants on the programme had not previously benefited from

leadership or management training and development, even though, some had been in

management and leadership roles for some time. Whilst some had just got on with the job

doing and doing what they though best, and modelled others they saw as good leaders

and managers, some participants admitted to us that they had secretly felt they had been

bluffing it for years. Developing an identity as a leader and manager is part of a

performative process of leadership, which comes through naming and discussing what

leadership is about, having a shared language of leadership and management, and

knowing and reflecting on, what our experience tells us about a good boss and a bad

boss, using management tools to benchmark our work, and having specific tools and

training in skills such as having difficult conversations. These ingredients were all part of

the programme.


2. Letting Go and Delegating

For some managers their 360 feedback enabled them to appreciate that they needed to

change their behaviour. Letting go, delegating more and give their teams a degree of

autonomy was a common example that managers shared with us in respect of how the

programme had made a difference to them and the people they worked with.

One manager describes her learning around letting go and delegation as:

Not trying to do it all herself and monitoring her internal critic

“I am very aware of not trying to do it all myself. I’ve learned to be able to delegate and

to advise and support as opposed to thinking: ‘I will do it myself, or if you want a good

job doing, you’d better do it yourself’ so, it looking at what this person can do not doing

just how I want it done, which has created some magic, because when someone

knows that you are supporting them they feel encouraged and they will blossom.”

Not needing to be in control of everything anymore

Another described her turn to delegation as:

“I think generally it has made me more relaxed....I don’t need to be in control of

everything.”

Getting the best out of your staff

This manager went on to illustrate by examples how letting go and delegating helps to:

“Management isn’t something that everybody instinctively knows how to do. I have

had some really awful managers in my time and I know how awful it is to be managed

by somebody who is very controlling, who micro manages and doesn’t get the best out

of their staff.”

Importantly, such behavioural change in managers can enable others to become more

engaged in the work. Another manager offered the following example:

“ Just this week one of my team did a brilliant piece of work with another colleague

where she developed a parent forum to obtain some user feedback............she got on

with it, she set the ground rules, she developed the questions................I encouraged

her and I listened to her planning and I looked at her plan. She ran with it, and it was

great.”

The same manager offered another example regarding the need to refresh a practitioners

group and letting go:

“When I first got here, I used to chair the group. My team were aware the format was

becoming a bit tired, it wasn’t very interactive. One of the staff suggested she wanted


to do a focus group to look at the terms of reference, to think about making it more

thematic and more interactive. I said ‘this is really positive but I am going to step

out.............I am happy to give you feedback but I am going to let you facilitate the

groups. They now take it in turns in their networks to facilitate these groups........ I

consciously made the decision to step back. I suppose I could have taken it as critical

of how I had previously run those groups but I could see they had a point. I thought,

no, this is good, this is breathing some life and developing autonomy. I didn’t get upset

about it. I was able to relate it to some of what I had done on the course”

Freeing up time to do other things:

As described by another manager letting go and delegating can help:

“It has added value to the organisation because I could then spend my time on other

things, which helps my manager, so that she’s got more time. I am now doing practice

assessing, which I have never done before, because I felt I had the time to do

something else now, other than just the work.”

Discussion - Letting Go and Delegating

The second most generic difference reported to us was the increased awareness of

participants, of the need to delegate more and how this helped get the best out of staff and

freed up time for those in more senior positions to get on with other work. In section 2.1,

of this report a respondent tells us that she has changed her perception of herself as a

leader and manager as a direct result of the 360° feedback, reporting, that she is now able

to ask her staff to do more work having previously been fearful of being seen too

demanding. Letting go and enabling autonomy in work is itself a behaviour motivator, if

not source of employee satisfaction. If the ability to manage staff performance has been

improved by the participation on this programme (as indicated by some participants in their

assignments) the ability to let go and delegate is more likely to take place when leaders

and managers are confident that standards are being met.

3. The value of Work Based Projects

Findings suggest that the programme has added value to individual managers and their

work teams but we are not been able to put a figure (Return on investment) on this ‘value

added’, we can only report on what that means in the context of participants work. A table


is provided in the appendix of a sample of work based assignment titles (see Appendix

one).

Discussion - The Value of Work based Projects

We have 60 work based projects produced by participants on the programme. However

they vary in type and thus, a one size fits all assessment of their worth or valuecan not be

made. The initial plan was that projects be agreed and signed off by senior managers but

in the change process that unfolded in the organisation, this did not happen. We then

agreed with our partners and the client representative that participants could choose a

project they felt most fitting to their own circumstances. For many the live work based

project involved something concrete that they and or their team were working on in their

service area. This included responding to the agenda for change and austerity in some

cases. For others, it was a more personal project of their own leadership development

journey, in other-words, where the participant was the project.

Figure 3: Mapping of Participant Project Titles to Discourses of Leadership and

Leadership Development

"Becoming a better

manager and leader (34)"

"An action research project enabling the 331 Service to close in

2011 (8)"

"Raising the educational

achievements of vulnerable young

people: influencing and impacting the work of others (5)"

"Leading the team through change:

How can we provide our service

differently at a reduced cost (2)"

Dissensus

Consensus

A Priori Emergent


Using the discourse theory paradigms as applied to leadership development and mapping

a sample of project titles from the list against this model, we can see more clearly what

type of projects emerged (see Figure 3 below). Some are traditional management

projects, others reflect a journey of sense making - the before and after stories of change ,

others reflect of a journey of leadership development and the crafting of a personal

leadership identity, and some are more critically challenging projects that respond to the

impact of austerity on their work.

Adding value through work based projects can be judged in a variety of ways in terms of

benefits to the individual, the team and the organisation.

Conclusions

This section addresses the research questions:

Q1) What is the interplay between the context of cuts, change and uncertainty in the

public sector and the programme?

Q2) How do participants talk about and reflect on their experience of the programme in

relation to their leadership skills and effectiveness?

Q3) What is the impact of the programme and its capacity to add value to the organisation

and the leadership of participants?

Austerity

In asking this research question we wanted to know to what extent austerity affected the

conduct of the leadership development programme. It was important for us to drill down

and examine this question with fresh eyes, to see whether it was as bad as we had

thought. We were after all, also affected by the tsunami of feelings that flowed into our

learning relationships with participants in the ALS’.

Our findings confirmed that austerity has more than coloured the learning and

development of this leadership development programme. The risk of redundancy was

palpable, it was there in the either, and as the data reveals, it gave way to feelings of

hopelessness, dislocation and a sense of living on the edge of a precipice. The

consequence of this was a profound sense of anger and loss experienced by many

participants. With some, identifying that they were not well led or cared for by the very


organisation whose remit was to care for children and families. We have identified that

people reacted in different ways. For the survivors, it was business as usual, in so far as

they had a job to be getting on with. For those less fortunate, concerns expressed

revealed the very human cost of austerity and redundancies in the public sector. We

found staff asking: ‘how will I pay my mortgage’? (A question posed by a staff working in

children’s centers and youth work, mainly women in part time employment). This

uncertainty and consequent anxiety permeated the organisational zeitgeist, yet staff

expressed genuine empathy for others, even when they were not directly affected by the

prospect of redundancy themselves. They still felt for others. Like a storm, austerity has

wrecked havoc with the service, and it has resulted in many losses. Moreover, loss was

systemic: the loss of jobs; Loss of funding in service areas, with a significant reduction in

funds for partners in the voluntary sector; Loss of relationships and professional contacts,

with some service areas hit harder than others. Finally, for some participants, their

personal resiliency was affected and professional identities ruptured.

Experience

Participants have reported overwhelmingly a positive experience of the leadership

development programme. The three core days with the 360° psychometric feedback has

been significant in helping participants reflect on what leadership means to them, what

images and assumptions they carry with them about what effective leadership looks like,

giving them a context into which they can reflect on their personal feedback from their

team about what is working and what it is about their style of leadership that might benefit

from change. Notwithstanding criticisms of psychometric tools as having a limited frame of

reference, the participants have reported that they have found this a powerful addition to

their repertoire to develop their own awareness and leadership practice.

Significantly, the Action Learning Set experience has given participants both the space

and time to think. As indicated in one of the quotations, if managers had a space to think at

work and have critically reflective - robust conversations concerning the challenges and

dilemmas they face, they could be much more effective in their leadership roles. One

important feature of this action learning intervention was in the structure it provided it to

facilitate learning from the real. In other-words, the real work issues and challenges that

the participants were facing in their work, whilst they were on the programme. This

approach enabled learning to be embedded in the work and avoided the classic problem of


training interventions where learning has to be transferred to the work place at a later date.

Examples of work based learning included, team learning and using ones power and

influence.

Moreover, the ALS’ have been described as providing a safe space to learn, one where

feelings and emotions were permitted and used to support individual and collective

learning and reflection around the wicked problems that public sector managers

increasingly have to face. As well as providing a container for these emotions, the

evidence suggests that the Action Learning Set process has supported learners in making

sense of their experience, work on their own leadership identity projects, and clarify their

professional values and engage critically in their work as leaders.

Impact

The impact of the programme has added value, though the weight of expectations may

differ between stakeholders about what added value may mean. There is evidence to

show benefit both to individual participants and the organisation, will a number of particular

examples of learning being applied to team working during the life of the programme. For

individuals, we have identified increased self-confidence to practice as leaders and

managers, including an increase in confidence in managing people. Letting go and

delegating offer both important outcomes for individuals but also their teams, enabling

work to be more effectively shared and staff given opportunities for development.

Significantly, we can see how important these seemingly small gains are fundamental to

forming one’s identity as a leader.

At the organisation level, there is also evidence of change, as staff, adjust their ways of

working to accommodate efficiency savings and structural change. But there is also

evidence of tensions for some staff as they grapple with the competing demands of

economic austerity and social justice in their work. Evidenced in some of the projects are

the hidden benefits of some of this work. For example, even where services were subject

to closure or radical change, the quality of care exercised by staff supporting clients and

colleagues and celebrating the work that had been achieved in the service over many

years, even when they were subject to redundancy themselves, speaks volumes about the


professionalism of staff in the children and families service. We are in no doubt about the

positive legacy this work has left in the community.

The findings show that the intervention of this leadership development programme has

added value to individual participants and the organisation. What has worked has been

the combination of the taught programme with feedback on leadership styles and climate,

and the ALS’ which have provided a safe space for learning and a structured framework

for work based leadership development projects. On a practical note we are satisfied that

the programme has enhanced the leadership and management capability of the

participants. Following the interviews and focus group activity we were asked to provide

an additional programme of action learning and coaching to all social care managers who

had participated in the programme and this activity will ran to December 2013. We are

currently working with the next two cohorts.

Learning

In this section we summarise the learning from three perspectives: the individual

participants, the organisation and ourselves, the authors, as practitioner researchers.

Learning for individuals: In conclusion this has been evidenced by the research findings,

the work projects and their successful graduation from the programme.

Learning for the organisation: whilst this is contained in the report and

recommendations, in view of the findings concerning the interplay between austerity and

the programme, it is worth reminding the organisation of the necessity to support

employees during change, ensure that the climate is conducive to this and ensure effective

communications management, which participants have suggested were lacking at the

outset of this programme.

Learning for us as practitioner researchers: This evaluation has provided a learning

opportunity for us. It has helped us develop our understanding of undertaking research in

and with a live group of managers in an organisation. It has caused us to reflect on what

we do, how we talk about leadership development and how we design and work with

leadership development interventions and the evaluation of them. In particular, we have


learned much more about working with managers in the public sector than we previously

knew and in particular, we have learned about the dynamics of action learning in this

setting in and

Areas for improvement are addressed in the recommendations to the organisation.

Recommendations

Engaging line management in supporting participants on the programme and in particular

their involvement at project proposal stage

Introducing the new senior team to the core elements of the programme and the action

learning process

Establish Show and tell events with the help of the Workforce Development manager at

the end of each programme, so that impact and the outcomes of work based projects, as

well as the development of individual participants can be recognised and celebrated by the

organisation

Work with the senior team to integrate the leadership development programme into a

wider organisation development agenda for leading and managing the ongoing

organisational change

Provide coaching for individuals and in some cases teams to help embed further learning

and deliver on change projects,on completion of the programme for 4-6 sessions, as

required.

Dissemination of Findings

During the life cycle of this project we have engaged in the following:

Presentation at UFHRD workshop Portsmouth 2012

Presentation at HRD week Olympia 2012 in the Learning Arena

Book chapter: Hartog, M and Frame, P. with Rigby, C and Wilson, D. Chapter 29, Learning

From the Real, in Bilham, T. (Ed) For the Love of Learning, Palgrave Macmillan 2013

(publication imminent)

Presentation at HR Director’s Forum (Middlesex University) 30 April 2014


Book chapter: Hartog, M and Tomkins, L. (2014) forthcoming, In Mabey, C and Mayrhofer,

W. (Eds) How can an ethic of care support the teaching and management of change,

Questions Business Schools Don’t Ask, Sage Publications

Hartog, M, Rigby, C and Wilson, D. (2014) Conference paper titled: Leadership

Development: Reflecting on the past – shaping the future, UFHRD, Edinburgh, UK

Expenditure

We were awarded an honorarium of £2,000 and to date we have spent circa £1,500.

Please see finance report from RKTO office at Middlesex. As you will see the majority

spend has been on transcription of the interview data and we would propose to spend the

remainder on dissemination related activity.


REFERENCES

Easterby- Smith, M. (1994) Evaluating Management Development, Training and

Education, 2nd edn. Aldershot: Gower.

Ford, J. Harding, N and Learmouth, M (2008) Leadership As Identity, Palgrave Macmillan.

Hamblin, A. C. Evaluation and Control of Training, McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead.

Hartog, M. Frame, P. Rigby, C and Wilson, D (2013) Learning from the real, chapter 29,

pages 204-211, In Bilham T(Ed) (2013), For the Love of learning: Innovations from

Outstanding University Teachers, Palgrave Teaching and Learning.

Hoggett, P. (2006) ‘Conflict ambivalence, and the contested purpose of public

organizations’. Human Relations, Volume 59(2):175-194.

Kubler-Ross, E. On Death and Dying, Tavistock: London. (1970).

Mabey, C. (2012) Leadership Development in Organizations: Multiple Discourses and

Diverse Practice, International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol***(2012), British

Academy of Management and Blackwell Publishing

Revans, R. W. (1983) The ABC of Action Learning, Bromley, Chartwell- Bratt

Reynolds, M. and Vince R (2004), Organizing Reflection: An Introduction, In Reynolds and

Vince (Eds), (2006), Organizing Reflection, Ashgate, Hampshire, England.

Rigg, C and Richards, S. (Eds), (2006), Action Learning, Leadership and Organizational

Development, Routledge Studies in Human Resource Development, Routledge, Taylor

Francis Group, London and New York.

Vince, R and Martin, L. (1993) “Inside action learning: an exploration of the psychology

and politics of the action learning model”, Management Education and Development, 24

(3), 205-215.

Wenger, E (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge,

U.K.

Weinstein, K (1995) Action Learning: A Journey of Discovery and Development, Harper

Collins, London


Appendix - Participant Project Titles

Number

Project Title

1 A work based learning project into the Development of an Early

Intervention & Prevention Service of Family Support

2 Leading the team through change: How can we provide our service

differently at a reduced cost?

3

Reflective practice in Change Management: An analysis of my personal

learning & development based on my experience of my professional

practice, whilst planning and leading a commissioning project for NHS

Barnet.

4 Action research – WBL: Reflections on the evolution of a NEETS

project & self as leader

5

Raising the educational achievements of vulnerable young people: a

reflective look at my leadership- influencing &

impacting the work of others

6 A WBL Project developing EI via transition at Finchley Youth Theatre

7 Prevention of Permanent Exclusion of Barnet Looked-after pupils using

planned satellite L&Mgt

8 An Action Research project enabling the 331 Service to close in 2011

9 Understanding leadership Complexity in a time of unknown certainties

(Restructuring Youth Support Service)


Number

Project Title

10

WBL project: Review of effectiveness of the m-agency groups MAGS to

see if they are achieving their objectives & reflections on my learning

through this process

11 A WBL: Identifying a strategy to maintain team morale in an

increasingly competitive environment (School Governor Services)

12

Evaluation of the frames of reference I have developed over the years

that have enhanced or blocked my learning: Discovering how to do

things differently

13 A review of my journey and practice

14

An AL Project: Developing and ongoing 360 positive feedback system

for the Family Intervention project (newly-formed) – requiring leadership

at its centre

15 What are some of the emotional factors that affect my ability to work

with small groups?

16

A WB Project providing opportunity for reflection on my own personal

development: The implementation of a Child in Need Services

Personal Safety Guide

17 How can I trust a word I say? An exploration into personal crisis and

professional conduct.

18 A WBL Project: To consolidate services into a single contact centre


Number

Project Title

19 A critical evaluation of the Occupational Health Service in an FE

College

20 Intro of pre-pay debt cards in LBB

21 The deconstruction and reconstruction of my identity

22 A WBL project: Reflecting on lessons from the course and sharing with

my team

23 Reviewing admin tasks to eliminate inefficiencies to the needs of the

safeguarding division

24 Community Barnet: Exploring the complexities of being a PT manager

managing a PT team

25 Making myself the project

26 Ultimate Change Leadership Project: A Test in Survival

27 A Review of my personal learning throughout the L&M Devt

Programme: Exploring and Awareness behaviour change

28 Meeting organisational targets for assessment timescales and

developing my use of directive and pacesetting leadership styles

29 Youth Service and Education Business Project: A reflection on

leadership in context


Number

Project Title

30 How can I reorganise my team where some will lose their job and do so

with minimum personal cost to me?

31 Piloting a new system of case review

32

A review of my role as a manager of the CW Development Team:

developing my professional practice as a leader to enhance my team’s

performance

33 My evolution as a leader: personal process essay

34 Becoming a better manager and leader

35 My new emerging leadership emblem (Leaving Care Team)

36 Restructure the team via climate and coaching and develop my EI

37 How can i develop and reinforce a positive outcome delivery within my

team?

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