CRITICAL FRIENDS

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CRITICAL FRIENDS

• What it means to be a Peer Member and a Mentor

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CRITICAL FRIENDS

• Cllr. Terry Hone
• Deputy Leader North Herts District Council

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CRITICAL FRIENDS

• What it means to be a Peer Member and a Mentor

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CRITICAL FRIENDS

• Why I became a peer and mentor
• How my support has helped others
• My personal journey
• What would I do again?
• What would I not do again?
• Would I recommend it to others?

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Why I became a peer and mentor

• To help other authorities to better deliver
  services
• To learn how other authorities deliver the
  generic services
• To learn how other authorities deliver unique
  services

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How my support has helped others

• Benefit from my experiences as a fellow
  councillor
• Benefit from my experiences as a peer and/or
  mentor
• Benefit from listening to an alternative solution
• Help them to recognise their shortcomings

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My personal journey

• Some authorities do it better than mine
• Some authorities do it worst than mine
• Some authorities do it the same as mine
• In this day and age, we all have similar problems

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What would I do again?

• Ensure I have read and understood significant
  (not everything) background information on the
  authority
• Understand the idiosyncrasies of the authority
• Understand what are their unique problems
• Stick to a semi-rural District Council

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What would I not do again?

• Slip into tutor, coach, instructor mode
• Forget that every authority is different
• I would mentor nearer to home

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Would I recommend it to others?

• If you want to help authorities develop services
  to the public
• If you want to help fellow councillors deliver a
  better service to their public
• If you want to learn to develop the services your
  authority delivers to their public
• If you, as a councillor, want to deliver a better
  service to your public.

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CRITICAL FRIENDS

• Any questions?