Shifting leadership into gear

Stephen Fitzgerald is a management and financial consultant working in the local authority sector. This article was originally published in Issue 2 of Room151 Quarterly magazine. 

It’s become increasingly clear to me working in leadership roles across the public sector that there remains a set of core elements to running a top-level finance team. Whether working internally, as an interim manager or as an external consultant, these critical facets remain constant. Even with local authority budgets squeezed as they are, it is impossible to see how they could be changed. Indeed, in some ways, they become more important. What’s more, as leadership and management skills become
generic, they apply across all sectors.
It is important to remember that the UK public sector is a service industry and along with other back office functions a finance team is by its nature a support service. So, when things are going well the internal or external customer is often unaware of the support that the finance function is playing. There is no problem in being invisible in this way. However, in the current environment public sector organisations are looking to finance teams to play a more strategic role, taking account of restricted taxpayer support and the need to provide sufficient support for key services. This puts the emphasis on the communication, enabling and supporting roles that finance professionals should play, which can be key to delivering on strategic objectives.
It is something of a cliché but delivery is about having the best team rather than the best collection of individuals. Early in my career I joined a management team of able and ambitious people providing a finance service to a large organisation. Each of the leaders was outstanding. However, when this group worked together as a team they failed to achieve outstanding performance. Often the defining factors in good team work is the commitment that individuals are prepared to give in support of group, rather than individual success. I am not naive enough to ignore personal agendas but the team commitment can be as important as individual talents and skills. This may be a little idealistic but I have found it to be important in the development of high performance.
I read an article by Brian Green in PR Week entitled: Things a Great Boss Always Does. One behaviour identified was: “A great boss always encourages the next generation of leaders to rise up”. This is absolutely true and not always done well. Progression within a current role or to a more senior level is often a major motivator for staff to put in extra effort and, ultimately,  more important than short-term financial gain.
The leader is in a key position to create an environment where people can gain experience and qualifications and if excellence is an object, staff development must be at the centre of the ethos of the finance team.
As a student I researched the motivation of staff within the civil service and what was apparent was that while many (not unreasonably) felt money was a motivator none defined it as their only or even principal motivation. Poor remuneration is a considerable demotivator but there comes a point when staff are looking for more from their careers than financial reward. This is where Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs still has a message for us today. They want job satisfaction and fulfilment in their working lives. It is the role of the leader in a finance function to provide an environment where people feel they can attain satisfaction through their personal efforts. This is correct in its own right and will help produce better outcomes.
Money may not be the only motivator, but it is definitely a pretty important “hygiene factor,” using the terminology of management guru Fredrick Hertzberg. Proper remuneration, a good working environment and positive organisational culture all add value to the working experience of the finance professional. As a leader you have every right to expect top level performance from your team and 110% commitment. However, you will not achieve that if you are insensitive to their basic needs. This is as true in a home working environment as it is for those that work on site. Superficial savings may be tempting but they will undermine your position as a leader seeking top level performance.
The majority of my career has been in large public sector organisations but I have often been amazed at how few staff seem to have ownership of organisational objectives, ethos or culture. I have seen staff like zombies, oblivious to the customer and organisational objectives – aimless or, worse, cynical. I joined the public sector because I believed there was value in what organisations could provide to communities. Sadly, though, some colleagues never adopt their role as ambassadors either internally or externally. You can achieve good performance with a limited number of staff being your key ambassadors. But to be the best each member of your team must be an enthusiastic advocate for the product.
I always endeavour to be creative and enjoy that aspect of finance and managerial work. Finance teams rarely fail due to a lack of creativity. More often it’s because the basics of good practice are overlooked. Some of the best local authority finance teams achieve that by focusing on what really matters while not stifling creativity. The most recent high profile local government failure was the exposure to Icelandic banks. Here decision making and governance were the key issues not creativity. The public trust us with their money, we need to ensure basic professionalism and governance are at the centre of what we do.
I believe that camaraderie and shared experience are important for the delivery of a top level service. This must be for the whole workforce. Diversity should be valued and celebrated as should success. As a director I was humbled by a junior member of a finance team giving a presentation on how she enjoyed her job and was passionate about what she did.
This enthusiasm is priceless: and a member of staff with this mind-set is worth more than a whole demotivated and disengaged team. As leaders and managers we must create a culture where positive behaviours and commitment are valued and rewarded. Team members should look forward to coming to work and see it is as positive. If your team come to work expecting an unrewarding experience, positive outcomes will be unlikely.