Local government leadership and leaders are moving from command and control to connect and convene
Our local public services are entering another period of profound change.
- Expectations continue to rise.
- Resources remain constrained.
- Technology is evolving rapidly.
- AI is beginning to reshape how organisations operate.
Yet despite these pressures, many of our leadership approaches in local government remain rooted in assumptions designed for a different era.
The question facing us is not simply how we adapt our organisations, but whether we’re developing leaders equipped for the challenges ahead.
Last week, at DigiGov, Socitm President Yogita Popat and I co-led a workshop exploring exactly that.
The session brought together leaders from across different parts of the local public sector, creating space for an open and honest discussion about what leadership needs to look like in the years ahead.
The conversation reflected many of the issues organisations are wrestling with today: from workforce development and organisational culture to digital capability and AI.
What emerged was striking: despite all the different roles, responsibilities and experiences in the room, there was remarkable consistency in the themes people raised.
While our organisations face different challenges, there was broad agreement on the capabilities, behaviours and mindsets future leaders will need to succeed.
1. Local government leadership is becoming less hierarchical
Traditional leadership models often assume that authority comes from expertise and position.
Increasingly, you’re being asked to
- work across organisational boundaries.
- influence without direct control.
- bring together people with different perspectives and skills.
The future leader is less likely to be the person with all the answers and more likely to be the person who can create the conditions for others to contribute their expertise.
Leadership is becoming more collaborative, more distributed and more dependent on relationships.
In many ways, the role is shifting from directing activity to enabling it.
2. Digital capability is now everyone’s business
One of the discussion’s strongest messages was that digital capability can no longer be seen as the responsibility of a single specialist team.
Digital thinking, data literacy and a basic understanding of emerging technologies increasingly need to be embedded throughout our local public service organisations.
That does not mean every leader needs to become a technical expert.
It does mean they(and you) need enough understanding to ask the right questions, make informed decisions, and support teams through change.
As AI becomes more prominent, this challenge becomes even more important.
3. Experience in local government often teaches more than formal programmes
Learning and leadership development remains important, but there was widespread recognition that some of the most valuable learning happens outside the classroom.
Secondments, cross-organisational projects, mentoring, job rotations and opportunities to work alongside different teams were repeatedly highlighted as powerful development experiences.
The consensus was not that formal learning lacks value, but that leadership capability is built through doing as much as through studying.
4. Curiosity is becoming a core leadership skill
Many of the challenges local public services are facing now have no established playbook.
Economic pressures, workforce challenges, technological change and rising expectations require leaders to navigate uncertainty rather than simply manage established processes.
In this environment, curiosity matters.
The ability to ask good questions, seek out different perspectives and remain open to learning may be more valuable than having complete certainty.
Leaders who can adapt quickly and encourage learning in others are likely to be better equipped for the pace of change ahead.
5. Culture remains the biggest barrier in our local organisations
When discussions about transformation take place, attention often focuses on technology, funding or organisational structures.
Yet again and again the conversation returned to culture:
- risk aversion
- silos
- hierarchy
- resistance to change
All continue to slow progress in many organisations.
Even when the right tools and resources are available, transformation becomes difficult if the culture does not support experimentation, learning and collaboration.
6. We need to rethink talent and progression
The discussion also highlighted concerns about future talent pipelines.
Across the public sector, organisations are competing for people with digital, analytical and leadership skills while also facing recruitment and workforce pressures.
Participants talked about creating stronger entry routes, investing in early-career development and providing meaningful opportunities for progression.
You need to deliberately build your future talent pipeline rather than assume it will happen as it always has.
7. Retention needs a different mindset
One of the more thought-provoking themes centred on retention.
Traditionally, organisations have viewed the departure of talented staff as a failure. Yet several contributors suggested a more pragmatic perspective.
People will move. Careers will evolve. Skills will be developed elsewhere.
Rather than focusing solely on preventing people from leaving, organisations may benefit from creating environments where talented people want to return later, bringing fresh experiences and knowledge with them.
A local government leadership challenge for all of us
If there was one overarching message from the workshop, it was this:
The future of leadership looks fundamentally different from many of the models that shaped today’s organisations.
Leadership is becoming less about hierarchical authority and individual expertise, and more about adaptability and collaboration – being able to bring people together around shared outcomes.
Perhaps the most important question emerging from the discussion is not whether leadership needs to change. That seems increasingly clear. The real question is whether we’re moving quickly enough to prepare the next generation of leaders for the world they’ll inherit.
Because the future of public services will depend not only on the technology we adopt or the structures we create, but on the leaders we develop today.
If our conversation at DigiGov demonstrated anything, it’s that the sector already understands the challenge.
The task now is turning that understanding into action.
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