Regional Leadership
Good leadership is acknowledged as being one of the most important ingredients in the growth of the North East economy. Research into world best practice in regional economic development shows that effective leadership is a critical characteristic of successful regions. A report commissioned by the Government’s Performance and Innovation Unit has also shown that developing good leaders can be a key means of boosting local and regional performance.
There is need for significant effort to be put into developing the leadership qualities of individuals, businesses and institutions in the region. This will help close the economic gap between North East and the rest of the country.
The Agency has a particularly important role to play in driving forward this leadership agenda.
The challenges cover a broad spectrum, from regional government through to community leadership. In practical terms, the Agency will address four main issues:
- Communicating vision and strategy
- Bringing together and offering leadership at a regional level
- Building the confidence, aspirations and networks of leaders
- Developing leadership talent in individuals
Articulating the Vision and Strategy
It is crucial that regional partners have a shared understanding of where North East England is heading, as this will further enable the development of strong, cohesive leadership.
Much progress was made on this through the Strategic Horizons in the North East (SHiNE) project, which identified nine key themes which would help drive the success of the region.
The Strategic Futures Institute will be sponsored by the Agency to support its work. This will enable it to conduct a number of discussion panels with key sectors and communities around important themes, such as the voluntary sector, the energy sector, and enterprise.
The aim of these panels is to boost leadership capabilities within the region. This will involve incorporating scenario planning techniques into the everyday work of public, private and voluntary sector organisations, to help identify priorities for action.
Integrating Regional Leadership
In developing a shared vision progress cannot be made by organisations acting in isolation. One of the findings from research has been the poor light in which different sectors see each other.
In reality, business, public sector organisations and those in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors talk about similar issues, but they do so in their own specialised and technical language. Encouraging discussion between them will develop a shared understanding of good leadership and partnerships, and how this can benefit the region and the wider North.
An example of successful working around a strong, shared vision was the Newcastle Gateshead bid for Capital of Culture 2008. Such focused, constructive working between areas and organisations across the region must become the norm.
In order to help facilitate this, the Agency aims to develop a leadership strategy and set up leadership projects.
We are also working with the Northwest Development Agency and Yorkshire Forward to develop a Northern Leadership Academy for business, community, public and political leaders as part of The Northern Way. This will include a set of North East based exchanges, placements and programmes between the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Building the Confidence, Aspiration and Networks to Lead
The region needs to build the confidence and aspirations of individuals to succeed and lead. There are a number of initiatives already in existence to help achieve this, including networking, mentoring and the Common Purpose project to develop community leaders. Despite these, the region's leadership potential remains unrealised. Essential to leadership know-how is the development of regional, UK and global networks so best practice can be shared.
Key aims for future development will include:
- Introducing measures to support those currently under represented, such as women and ethnic minorities
- Developing the leadership potential of future entrepreneurs
- Raising the region's business competitiveness in key sectors and organisations, through stronger leadership
- Raising the region's public sector efficiency and vision through exposure to world-class leadership techniques and practice
Developing Leadership Talent in Individuals
Leadership is a dynamic process that requires fresh talent to reinvigorate businesses and communities as well as public services. Developing talented individuals is a broad form of succession planning.
However, there is no evidence base or common understanding of whether, or how, leadership development contributes to the increased productivity of businesses and efficiency of organisations. While there are schemes in existence which encourage leadership skills within the region, they pull in different directions and there is duplication in the way they are administered.
The Agency is supporting research that will help identify the role of leadership development and training in improving productivity. This will be used to identify best practice and rationalise existing activity.
