Moving from the private sector to the public sector can be disconcerting. There is a new language to learn and a new political dimension to leadership, which can prove a challenge for some senior managers.
John van der Laarschot, the chief executive of Stoke city council, has not only managed the transition carefully, but also with boldness. Until his first public sector appointment, as chief executive of Torridge district council in north Devon, Van der Laarschot's entire career had been in the private sector. He has a background in corporate finance and his positions include running Pepsi's business in South Africa.
Why move to the public sector? Because of the challenge, says van der Laarschot, and because he felt he could contribute something from his business background that might help make local authority leadership more effective.
The job at Torridge meant van der Laarschot had to take a huge paycut, in order to join an underperforming district council. His next career move was a bigger gamble. Stoke city council was looking for a new chief executive following a turbulent time. "If you looked at the council, it did not have a brilliant reputation," explains van der Laarschot. "There was political turmoil and a high turnover of senior employees."
At the time, there had been a number of problems at Stoke, which was the worst-performing council in England, with serious social deprivation issues and a growing BNP presence. Its children's services were in administration and van der Laarschot says the council wasn't able to deliver effective services.
But with a change in the political administration, following an election that created an unusual, four-way political coalition, between Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats and independents, there has been what Laarschot describes as a "fair degree of progress".
They see this as an opportunity to take some rather bold steps
Having a stable political leadership has been "very helpful", adds Laarschot in starting to rebuild confidence across the authority. In June, the political members agreed a change programme for the council that involves members working together with officers on what Laarschot describes as a vision of the city that its citizens themselves want, "rather than what we think they might like". There will be elections again next year in the city, so the present politicians have only a year's tenure. "You might argue that politicians in that situation would be nervous of doing anything, but it's almost the reverse," comments Laarschot. "They see this as an opportunity to take some rather bold steps."
Laarshot is clearly relishing his own opportunity to make his mark, steering through this major change programme. How has he found the transition into the public sector from the corporate world? The first things he noticed were the differences in terminology - a new language had to be learned - and the much slower recruitment process. He was particularly struck by the fact that those shortlisted for a vacancy sit in a room with their competitors - not something that happens in the private sector.
There has been a meeting of minds between Stoke and its new chief executive. Stoke wanted a new chief executive with a business-like focus, to oversee the radical leadership overhaul that was necessary. That meant taking a gamble - but candidates for the job were also taking a gamble, says David Hunter, of professional recruitment agency, Penna, which assisted in the search.
"Stoke was seen by the community of potential leadership candidates as a basket case," says Hunter, frankly. "It was at that time the worst council in England, with an extraordinarily fragmented political situation, and the members weren't sure why anyone would agree to come to the city."
Despite the fact that Laarschot had no experience of working with children's services, Penna felt he would be the right person for the job. He had a strategy of what needed to be done and, once in post, persuaded the Labour government at the time to bring children's services out of administration and back into Stoke. Laarschot also brought business acumen, with a focus on operational excellence, and his decision to join a smaller authority before aiming higher has paid off, according to Hunter. "His first grounding, in a small council, gave him an understanding of the language and credibility in front of the interview panel."
From Flip Chart Fairy Tales
From Bubb's Blog
From Whitehall Watch
Comments
There are no comments yet for this article.