New Year Resolutions - Setting Goals for 2015

I am making new year resolutions by setting goals for 2015 but a number of my friends have said they’re not bothering. Their reason tends to be either they cannot contemplate adding more demands at a time when their life is so busy or that they’ve tried in the past and failed and they fear they’ll do the same again. This might save them from getting their hopes up and avoid possible disappointment but at the cost of living an unfulfilled half-hearted life. Others are too overwhelmed to focus on what is important.  May be I can get them to reconsider and encourage them and you to join me by starting 2015 with purpose and intention. For without resolutions or the setting of goals for 2015 we are in danger of spending the year wandering and blown where the wind (life’s pressures) takes us and finish no closer to fulfilling our dreams at year end than when it started.  We are unlikely to just drift to our desired destination. 

Yes; I’ve heard the statistics and I know that 25% of new years resolutions won’t last a week and after 6 months only 40% will be continuing. I’ve heard that the average person makes the same new year resolution ten times without success. Still I believe that goal setting is a worthwhile exercise it’s just that we need to approach it differently.  

The beginning of a new year establishes a natural rhythm for reflection and preparation.  I shall start by setting aside some time to dream ( to envision ) what the year could bring and what I could achieve. I’ll go somewhere where I wont be distracted and which I find stimulates me. I’ll review the achievements of the past year  and consider what I need to learn from anything that didn’t go to plan but I wont let past disappointments stop me from having fresh excitement and vision. I will also ask myself what needs to be stopped and taken out of my diary for 2015.

To stimulate my thoughts I will remind myself of the things that are important to me in my life and the values by which I have determined I will live my life.  In this way the resolutions or goals that I set myself for 2015 will be linked to what is most important to me. I will be clear not just what the goal is but why it is important to me. I can easily imagine how achieving the goal will contribute to these important things and how this will feel. Also what I will lose if I don’t achieve my goal. In this way the goals I set myself will be compelling and very specific and capable of measurement. Some goals might be suitable to break down into steps to be completed by different times during the year.  I will be able to assess how I’m doing along the journey. Celebrating regular progress towards achieving the goal is rewarding and motivational. Fulfilment is as much about the journey as the destination. 

My goals will cover all areas of my life spiritual, business. family, health & fitness, personal development and charity/voluntary work. Because they will be directly linked to those things which I have previously identified as important to me this will help me throughout the year to say “no”. No to other activities which whilst attractive will not contribute to achieving the most important things. Each month I will measure my progress towards each goal. Constant progress towards a meaningful goal will spur me on. Where a goal is not on track the gap shows where I need to give more attention, effort or willpower. Reviewing progress at regular intervals causes me to keep the resolution fresh and enables me to adjust what I’m doing. 

2015 presents a year full with possibilities. I can choose to make different decisions in 2015 from those I made last year. What am I going to do differently in 2015 that will make this a fulfilling and rewarding year? Why not join me and answer these questions for yourself and set goals for 2015 strongly connected to your life priorities. Goals about which you are clear why you are doing them and how they link with what’s important to you. Goals which you can measure progress towards achieving. Happy 2015.

Trust in Public Sector Collaboration

When we have a choice we collaborate with those we trust.  There are many well publicised local authority shared services which provide good examples of this. However, sometimes formal structures or circumstances require us to collaborate with those not of our choosing.  In these cases the success of the collaboration is determined by the trust between the parties. A high level of trust within an organisation benefits its internal operation and influences the reputation it has with others. With trust being so important it is of concern that the recent report of the Institute of Leadership and Management puts trust in the public sector at such a low.   

High performing local authorities tackle both the challenges of their localities and achieve financial  sustainability and are those who operate collaboratively. The same is true for other public sector bodies. Collaboration might be with other authorities through sharing service delivery to make financial saving and improve standards. Collaboration might be with other public sector organisations tackling wicked issues over which none individually control all the levers of change, such as anti social behaviour, obesity or joblessness. Through commissioning arrangements collaboration might be with the private sector or voluntary sector. Collaboration can be with communities on co-designing and co-delivering leading to redesigned services. Organisations which collaborate well in these ways externally inevitably begin by collaborating well internally. Collaboration becomes part of their DNA. They have what has become widely recognised as “Collaborative Advantage”

Collaborative ventures comprise two elements; the deal and the relationship.  Too often attention focusses on the terms and operation of the deal with insufficient attention given to building and sustaining the relationship. In examining emerging collaborations that then fail to reach completion the reason for this is most often a failure in the relationship. The relationship is important and just as in personal relationships it needs to be worked on if it is to grow and sustain. Once building the relationship is discussed “TRUST” is quickly identified as the most important component. 

Collaboration is important to achieving public value and trust is a determinant of the effectiveness of collaboration. The Institute of Leadership and Management’s recent survey and research   indicates a significant difference in trust levels between different sectors. Trust is lower in the public sector than either the private sector or voluntary sector and the report describes it as a “sector in trouble”, suffering from a trust shortfall. Compared with other sectors and industries Local Government has the lowest trust from its own employees within the organisation and externally is only trusted less than the media and bankers.  

The survey reveals a massive difference in trust levels across sectors with the public sector (29% net high trust) falling significantly behind the private sector (45%) and voluntary sector (46%). Further, 12% of public sector managers say they trust either ‘very few’ or ‘no one’ in their organisation. When asked how much they trusted their own organisation managers in local and central government had the lowest level of trust at 10% net high trust compared with the average of 40% across all industries and sectors. The research also indicated a link between internal trust and external trust suggesting that industries and sectors with low trust internally also suffer from low trust from its customers and stakeholders. Whilst this is of concern it must be noted that the ILM survey groups central  and local government together 

and there is some data to suggest that the picture in local government may not be quite so bleak with regards the trust of their local council by residents. (see graph above)

What then can local government do to address this deficit in trust and what skills and competencies does it need to cultivate? Covey says that trust is based upon character and competence. Based upon the academic literature the ILM identified six determinants of trust in their Index of Leadership Trust. These are ,

1. Ability - the leader’s ability to do their job
2. Understanding - displaying knowledge and understanding of their employee’s or reports’ roles and responsibilities
3. Fairness - behaving fairly and showing concern for the welfare of their employees or reports
4. Openness - being accessible and receptive to ideas and opinions
5. Integrity - striving to be honest and fair in decision making
6. Consistency - behaving in a reliable and predictable manner

The ILM 2014 survey didn’t use their index of leadership trust but instead sought to identify what managers considered to be the fundamental skills and  qualities that leaders need in order to be trusted. Five drivers of trust were clearly identified as the most important in determining whether or not a leader was trusted. 

       

                                 

Being open and fair 

(one of the top three drivers for 77% of people - an open and honest relationship with managers and colleagues)

Being an effective communicator 

(people want to clearly know what is expected and how well they are doing)

Being able to make decisions 

(reassuring demonstrating knowledge, confidence & competence) 

Showing integrity 

Competence in their role

Covey claims low trust results in slow transactions and increased costs between the parties.  Dietz and Gillespie note six positive outcomes of high trust 

Employee Engagement

Operational efficiencies

Cooperation and problem solving

Information sharing and knowledge exchange

A positive work climate

Individual, group and organisational performance

With less emphasis on individual behaviours the LGA, SOLACE and LGComms published a report in 2013 entitled Building Trust - An Action Plan. This report has a communications slant and builds upon earlier work to build the reputation of local government. It concludes that Brand, Leadership and Strategy are the keys to building trust. For the purpose of this article what I find most interesting is the list of benefits accruing from building trust

1. Changes in the way services are delivered 

2. Manage demand for services 

3. Manage expectations of the people and organisations that you serve 

4. Deliver behaviour change 

5. Access capacity within the community to deliver services 

6. Reduce unnecessary contact with the council 

7. Increase engagement with the democratic process 

8. Improve community cohesion and local places themselves 

9. Improve access to and use of services 

10. Boost the morale of staff and elected member 

11. Improve the lives of residents 

12. Better join up local public services 

In 2010 the think tank DEMOS published the second of two pamphlets on trust in local government based upon their own research . They concluded that structural reforms such as elected Mayors and more referendums will not restore trust. Behavioural values and personal interactions are crucial to trust and local authorities need to put relationships at the centre.  Their research revealed three key drivers of trust: service quality, the quality of personal interactions and the perception of fairness in the decision making procedure. The recommendations were for local government to :

• move beyond satisfaction measures as a measure of effectiveness
• develop community capacity
• create space for individual staff to build trust
• prioritise community engagement in strategic decisions and understanding needs
• hold open days to meet middle management
• create citizen advocates
• promote the role of councillors

In future successful public sector organisations will be those who can effectively collaborate with others. Those seeking to build or rebuild their reputation for collaborative working should begin by improving their levels of trust. The skills can be learnt and developed. Leadership and example from the top is required.

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