Out of the Comfort Zone:

Professional Development

March 2015

informed

Background

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Task: In 2013 the Elected Members of City of Burnside asked the CEO to develop a succession plan so that each of the three General Managers were “chair-ready”.

Solution: General Manager Rotation

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“Team”

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Organisational silos

CEO

GM, Community & Development

Services

Manager City Development and

Safety

Manager, Library

Manager, Community Services

Manager, Customer Service

GM, Corporate Services

Chief Financial Officer

Manager, People and Culture

Manager, IT

Strategic Planning Officer

Governance Officer

GM, Urban Services

Manager, Operations

Manager Engineering

Manager Assets

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Source: Think One Team

by Graham Winter

My experience

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Impact on GMs

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Impact on the next tier

• A new GM every few months

• Managers needed to “train” two new GMs

• Different management styles

• Needed to quarantine their staff from any sense of instability

• Role of Managers as technical and operational lead reinforced

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Source: McMorland, J., Are you big enough for your job? Is your job big

enough for you? Exploring Levels of Work in organisations, University of

Auckland Business Review Vol 7 No 2

Levels of Work –

the theories of

Elliot Jaques

(1917 – 2003)

Strategic v operational

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Barriers

• Continuity for large ongoing projects

• Confusion about who to contact for subject matters

• Contact with the outside world – customers, agencies, Elected Members

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Risk!

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Comparison

• City of Playford

• 2 GMs, 9 Group Managers

• Rotated two units per annum

• Aim: to ensure either of the GMs could step into the CEO role at any time

• CEO focus on being a generalist

• Underpinned by Requisite Organisationtheorem (Jaques)

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Professional Development

• No 1 skill EMs want from their CEO: manage the organisation and don’t send us broke!

• CEOs have to be across the whole of the business: Roads Rates Rubbish & the Rest!

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Would I do it again?

• Yes!

• But…

• The organisation needs to be in the right place

• Everyone needs to be on board

• Needs to be for a longer period

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