Managing People is Like Herding Cats!

1
Managing People is Like Herding Cats!

• Lis Moore
• Head of Advisory Services

2
Who said this?

• Warren Bennis leadership and management guru in
  the 1980s
• 7 cats 7 councillors
• the old timer, the real power, the quiet one, the
  noisy idealistic one, the overfriendly one, the
  demanding one and the one that just turns up for
  meetings (feeding time)

3
Is this relevant to us?

• Councillors are like cats why?
• They have staff
• They dont always listen
• They can go their own way at any point of time

4
Unpicking the concept

• Understanding roles
• Understanding power and influence
• Managing personalities
• Managing the politics
• Having processes and procedures to underpin good
  governance

5
Power Influence

• Who has the power?
• What type of power is it?
• What is your role?
• What is their role?
• Does everyone understand each others role?

6
Managing Your Cats

• Structures
• Procedures
• Conduct
• Rewards

7
What do you need?

• Training?
• Mentoring?
• Advice?
• Advice Sources
• SLCC Advisory Service
• CALC/NALC
• Principal Authority