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CHAPTER FOUR: IMPACT AND REACH OF LEADING TO DELIVER

Performance M anagement

Benefits of Participating on Programme

4.1 The majority of participants agreed that attending the programme has benefited both their employer and their work (91% and 90% respectively).

Figure 4.1 Benefits to the sector in which I work

I finished it 4 years ago & I still bear it in mind. I guess that's the mark of good training. (Male, Cohort 1, LA)

4.2 As the Table 4.1 illustrates, there was a higher propensity among both participants and line managers to think that participants' skills to being 'a leader in charge' have improved a lot (57% and 53% respectively). Other aspects which participants felt have 'improved a lot' include: leadership style (51%) and skills to be an effective leader (49%). These were also the aspects which line managers have ranked highest (42% and 40% respectively), as well as their ability to learn from others (42%).

Table 4.1: Level of Improvement on Development

Base: 196 participants. Fieldwork: 6-31 March 2008
Base: 43 line managers. Fieldwork: 25 March-10 May 2008
Source: York Consulting LLP/McCallum Layton

4.3 There are relatively mixed views as to whether attending the programme contributed to participants obtaining promotion (23% agree; 29% neither agree nor disagree and 35% disagree). Those in smaller organisations ( i.e. < 100 employees) are more likely to disagree than those in larger organisations (101 - 500 employees) (35% versus 9%, strongly disagree).

4.4 One of the key benefits cited from participating in the programme was that it produces ' adaptive leaders' which it is deemed particularly relevant for those who have been employed within the sector for decades as illustrated: '' You don't want people who trained in the mid 70's delivering systems' theory stuff that they learnt in the 70's in terms of a service'.

4.5 Since participating in the programme, participants have become ' more reflective' practitioners. Many still refer to the modules on more than one occasion. Many participants have gained ' practical tools' and also a far greater awareness of themselves and their roles within their respective organisations.

I'm much more self aware of how I manage, some of the basic ideas I keep coming back to, I use different techniques & some of the Hifitz from Harvard its really good basic management techniques. I kept all the materials so there is always an opportunity to go back and look at things again. (Male, Cohort 4, LA).

4.6 By participating in the programme, participants see themselves as having benefited from the discipline of formal education, an appreciation of MBTI, (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) as well as an appreciation of having structured critical feedback. Consequently, many now feel they have a better understanding, not just of their own behaviour, reactions and responses, but also of those of other people. They are subsequently being ' more motivating', more aware of how to ensure that they have an effective team and in how an individual can best influence a team.

4.7 Participants consider that they have fundamentally shifted how they manage and lead their team. It has enabled them to ' better understand that leadership is different from management'. They have subsequently gained more self-awareness and increased their repertoire of leadership styles. They feel they have ' become better at managing people' and further that they have learnt skills that have enabled them to gain the respect and trust of the people they manage.

Impact on Working Practices since participating on LtD

4.8 Over half (58%) of line managers agreed that the programme has had a lasting effect on their employees' working behaviour. A considerably higher proportion (84%) of participants maintained that attending the programme has had a lasting effect on their working behaviour.

4.9 Almost eight in ten (77%) line managers agreed that many of their employees have used the skills learned on the programme, while just over seven in ten (72%) agreed that their employees have shared their learning with other members of staff.

4.10 Line managers feel that key benefits to employers, as a result of having participants on the programme, are that employees can offer a lot more in the workplace, e.g.:

• Participants have gained an underpinning knowledge about the concept of leadership. It's about personal development - seeing themselves as leaders. Leadership has improved at all levels in the organisation;
• It has practical and theoretical elements; people who have been through LtD have a better understanding of the task they are undertaking, and are able to use a common language, understood by all the managers. There are many different models/tools they could use, but it's very beneficial to have a common language - this will help effect change;
• They've used skills learned on LtD in planning away days;
• Staff question line managers' decisions more when trying to implement change - they are more vocal, and ask about the change management process, etc;
• They think more about how they are managing a team, and are able to lead on issues/projects above their place in the traditional hierarchy.

4.11 Participants themselves agreed that attending 'Leading to Deliver' has transformed the way in which they approach many aspects of their work. As previously mentioned, it has changed the way in which they approach their employees and it has changed their behaviour in terms of their relationship with other members of staff. Some have described themselves as ' becoming more professional' since the programme subsequently helping them to cope with change and to take other people through the change process.

4.12 The main ways in which participants themselves have felt that attending the programme has had an impact on their working practices include: managing change more effectively (21%), increased confidence (18%), making them a more confident manager (17%), understanding strategic management (15%), being more self aware (13%) and in delegation (11%).

4.13 There is a higher propensity among those in cohort 5 to maintain that their confidence has increased than those in cohorts 1, 2 and 4 (33% versus 7%, 9% and 9% respectively).

4.14 Interestingly, those in cohort 4 were more likely than those in cohorts 1, 2, 3 and 5 (39% versus 7%, 6%, 13% and 13% respectively) to cite that their understanding of strategic planning has changed.

4.15 When asked for their perception of the impact of having attended the programme, participants were, in the main, very positive as the Figure 4.2 illustrates. Around nine in ten (92%) participants agreed that it has helped them to understand how they can achieve change, while eight in ten (81%) agreed that it has given them a vision of how things could change in the future. Similarly, the majority of participants agreed that they had used many of the skills and techniques learned on the programme and have, indeed, passed these onto other members of staff (86% and 87% respectively).

Figure 4.2 Impact of Participation on Development

There are a number of opportunities within the workplace to ensure that other employees benefit from what I have learnt; monthly practice issues meetings, regional staff forums, staff conferences and modelling the tools in practice. It would be good to feel that LtD does fit into the various mechanisms within local authorities and the voluntary sector and is being recognised as a standard. (Male, Cohort 5, National voluntary organisation).

4.16 Similarly, line managers were asked for their opinion as to what impact they felt sending employees onto the programme had had on them. The majority (79%) agree that it has helped them to understand how they can achieve change while six in ten (60%) agree that it has provided employees with a vision of how things could change in the future.

Barriers to using Learning in the Workplace

4.17 One in five (18%) of line managers agreed that their employees have not used the programme in their day-to-day work as much as they thought they would, while a similar proportion (16%) agreed that the programme has made day-to-day work more frustrating as staff cannot adopt the changes they want due to internal structures. Just one in four (25%) agreed that employees faced barriers in using what they had learned in the workplace as illustrated in Figure 4.3.

Figure 4.3 Facing Barriers in the Workplace

4.18 Interestingly, some participants themselves agreed that there are barriers to them using their learning in the workplace, although the majority (52%) disagreed with this statement.

4.19 Of those who do perceive barriers to exist this is in part due to time constraints rather than restrictions placed on them by their employers.

Getting a balance between being a transactional leader versus a transformational leader was one of the challenges. There isn't the luxury in the voluntary sector of being able to take days away to think about strategy, it is literally heads down, getting on with managing services, keeping the clients happy, making sure people are achieving their goals, dealing with funding practice. The biggest challenge is finding the pro-active time to plan, develop and lead rather than manage. (Female, Cohort 2, National voluntary organisation).

4.20 Another barrier cited by some was senior management not understanding the principles of leadership. Although participants take cognizance of the fact that for some senior managers ' it's very hard for them to change, so they keep going with the traditional methods', particularly if they have been employed within the sector for a long time. As such employees face challenges in encouraging senior management to adopt a new way of working in these instances.

Benefits to Service Users

4.21 Although less than half (43%) maintained that the programme has given them a better appreciation of the needs of service users, almost eight in ten (79%) agreed, that their learning will provide sustainable benefits to service users as illustrated in Figure 4.4.

4.22 Around one in four (23%) participants disagreed with the former statement. In particular, those employed in larger organisations (> 500 employees) were more likely to disagree that the programme had given them a better appreciation than those in smaller companies (101 - 500 employees) (20% versus 1% tend to disagree).

Figure 4.4 Benefits to Service Users

4.23 Many participants feel that sustainable benefits to service users will become more tangible in the longer term. It is anticipated by some that service users will have access to a service provision that meets their individual needs which is there to support them.

4.24 Some participants have become more proactive in consulting service users who have subsequently had more involvement in the early development stages of initiatives.

4.25 In developing actual services, participants have been trying to take account of service user's views and have used these to form changes to the organisation. They have adopted strategic thinking and planning with clarity about goal setting with service users with an explicit recognition of outcomes. As a result, one of the benefits which service users might see is the provision of better information on access to services which is being constantly improved.

4.26 Line managers themselves anticipate seeing benefits to service users as a result of employees attending Leading to Deliver. Indeed, the perception is that some services and approaches to service users have been changed. It is felt that there is a need to involve service users more in services and in the design of them. That has been made possible by the change participants have gone through as a result of being on the course.

4.27 Some had already witnessed some positive outcomes, e.g.

• The service provision in one local authority provided across multiple sites which it felt did not previously offer best value and required modernisation, has now been integrated thereby improving the provision to users. In particular, it has now changed the balance of care and has subsequently improved outcomes for individuals;
• A national public sector organisation is now looking at service provision in a more ' holistic' way. The organisation is now using pre and post intervention carer evaluations, i.e. to measure the baseline and to then assess the degree to which intervention has made a difference to the quality of life of service users.

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