Kevin Crompton, Haringey’s Chief Executive designate, was introduced at last night’s (30 November) Council meeting. He will take over when Dr Ita O’Donovan retires in February.
Now I’m sure Mr Crompton has come across one or more variations of the three envelope story. It's a fair summary of what often happens – especially when people have overblown expectations of the fairy-dust of leadership.
By coincidence I got an email today from the I&DeA (the Improvement & Development Agency). They’ve been pondering the skills needed for a successful leader and came up with this list:
• sets an example
• encourages others to learn from their experiences – both good and bad
• shares and inspires ideas and solutions
• acts as a champion for their organisation and the sector as a whole
• takes calculated risks
• asks the right questions
• listens actively to others
• celebrates success
• is happy to be challenged
• is committed to improvement and development.
A really interesting point is that the list pretty much describes a former Haringey Chief Executive, David Warwick, who “retired” and is now at the Government Office for London.
As a P.S. to the above, people may be interested to read Dr Ita O'Donovan's piece on the website LocalGov. Looking toward January's Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) Dr O'Donovan tells us that:
"Our story is one of staff endeavour across the wide range of services delivered by Haringey. Despite the difficulties experienced, staff have been dedicated to achieving in all areas. The pace and trend of achievements have, in the round, been verified, with only one clear failure of pace in safeguarding children. This is receiving urgent and constant attention, and will be judged again in January."