'Creating a Responsive and Citizen-Centred Public Service in Africa'

Introduction

A well-managed, outward-looking public service is essential to the social and economic wellbeing of many African states, particularly the ability to compete globally in a rapidly changing world and cope with the challenge of globalisation.

Efforts to improve service delivery in African countries are located within the context of a global world with aims to alleviate poverty, address inequalities in social and economic conditions, provide safety and security and deliver services impartially to all Africans.

Therefore emerging goals for many African states will include:

•   Wealth creation
•   Employment generation
•   Poverty reduction
•   Value reorientation
•   Capability and Integrity of Leaders

The evolution of many African states is invariably dependent upon the strength, competency and coherence of Leaders who must convert the stated developmental goals into reality. African nations therefore require capable and effective Leaders in order to plan and guide the implementation of national development plans.

Series 2 of a set of seminars under the banner of 'Creating a Responsive and Citizen-Centred Public Service in Africa' is based on Leadership. The second series has been developed to provide a focus for Leadership development and the raising of awareness of public servants in Africa and other developing nations.

Objective

•   The objective is to explore and identify different approaches to Leadership and its relevance for transforming Africa in the 21st Century.

•   The combined effect of all the seminars within the series will be to create greater understanding of the kind of public services based on models in the United Kingdom required for the development of Africa and other low economic developing countries.

Aims

•   Explore opportunities and challenges associated with Leadership in Africa

•   Achieving economic development and cultural change through effective Leadership in Africa

•   Explore the role of Leadership as key to meaningful renewal of the public service and to enhance professionalism and ethics in the public service in Africa

•   Role of Leadership in creating conditions conducive to investment and inflows for developmental purposes in Local Government

•   Build productive relationships between the public, private and voluntary sectors

Plenary Speakers

List of Dignitaries / Guest Speakers and Topics

Dr. Bruce Lloyd - Emeritus Professor of Strategic Management, London South Bank University
Speaker: Introduction to the Concepts of Leadership

Sarah Ebanja - Deputy Chief Executive and Group Director, Strategy, Equalities and Performance of the London Development Agency (LDA)
Speaker: The Changing Context of Leadership

Alexandra Bode-Tunji – Head of Human Resources Operations, London Underground
Speaker: The Role of Leadership in Transforming Organisations

Chris Church -
Speaker: Great Leaders, Great Places

Dr. Kulu Haruna Abubakar – Special Adviser, Ecological and Relief Matters (Sokoto State Government, Nigeria)
Speaker: Achieving Cultural Change through Innovative Leadership


Day One – 28 January, 2009

10:00 – 10:15   Registration

10:15 – 10:30    Welcome & Key Note Address by Clear Corporation UK

10:30 – 11:15    INTRODUCTION TO CONCEPTS OF LEADERSHIP

Speaker: Dr. Bruce Lloyd – Emeritus Professor of Strategic Management, London South Bank University

The subject of Leadership engages individuals and organisations probably more than any other management topic. Every few hours, another paper or book lands on a bookshelf proclaiming the Holy Grail of Leadership. After centuries of studying leaders, from Alexander the Great to Joan of Arc, Machiavelli to Richard Branson, you might have thought that we can all pretty much agree on what Leadership is all about, right? Well, actually, no. Even today, with acres of evidence, observations and scientific research, there is still much debate on what constitutes Leadership and what it is that makes a good leader. Most texts on Leadership try to define or produce simple palatable definitions to describe effective Leadership and how we might attain it. If only. The truth is that Leadership is highly complex and individual. This session provides a practical view of Leadership and how Leadership begins with you.

11:15 – 11:30       BREAK

11:30 – 1:00    THE CHANGING CONTEXT OF LEADERSHIP

Speaker: Sarah Ebanja - Deputy Chief Executive and Group
Director Jobs, Skills and Youth - London Development Agency (LDA)

There is little doubt that the challenges of Leadership are very different from what they were twenty or even ten years ago. While the business imperative remains the same, the rules of the game are shifting. What leaders actually ‘do’ and what makes them successful, occupies academics and managers alike. Organisations have to contend with an increasingly unpredictable business environment. Economic, social and technological changes impact on organisations and individuals. Increasing global competition, volatile economic conditions, deregulation of markets, expanding technologies and unpredictable political situations have created an uncertain business environment. As a result, the nature of effective Leadership and the demands placed upon leaders is changing. Managing complexity, innovating and managing change are the order of the day. Alongside this, organisational structures are changing too. As hierarchies and formal power structures give way to flatter organisational structures and self directed teams, the old ‘command and control’ style of Leadership becomes less relevant. A more facilitative, empowering style which is mutually supportive rather than subordinate has increased in appeal. The view that an effective leader leads by a mixture of fear and respect has given way to another view, that of respect and co-operation. This session explores the following concepts:
•   Managing complexity
•   Leading effective teams
•   Leading high performing teams
•   Leadership versus Management
•   A follower’s perspective
•   Developing Leaders

1:00 – 2:00       LUNCH

2:00 – 3:30    THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN TRANSFORMING ORGANISATIONS
“He that would govern others, first should be the master of himself."                           Philip Massinger
Speaker: Alexandra Bode-Tunji – Head of Human Resources Operations, London Underground
The session will focus on what radical new form or fad of leadership is this? What is the difference between transformational leadership and transactional leadership and which is the most effective? How does a leader get everyone performing to their potential? Are there any pitfalls with transformational leadership? What is the relationship between leadership and management? What are the attributes of the transformational leader? Finally, what conclusions can be drawn about the usefulness of transformational leadership?
3:30 – 3:45       BREAK

3:45 – 5:00    GREAT LEADERS, GREAT PLACES

Speaker: Chris Church -

The importance of leadership in local government and the delivery of public services have never been as significant as it is today. This session aims to explore the role of leadership in the UK Government’s modernisation programme and how this can be adopted in Africa. The development of effective leadership in local government is one of the key challenges at the heart of central and local government’s drive to improve local democracy and the quality of local public services. It takes a great leader to create a thriving and prosperous community. This session is aimed at giving leaders the opportunity to shift their thinking on leadership so they can fundamentally transform their communities in Africa for the better.

5:00           CLOSE

Day Two – 29 January, 2009

10:00 – 10:15   Registration

10:15 – 11:15    ENCOURAGING LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANISATION

Speaker: Dr. Bruce Lloyd – Emeritus Professor of Strategic Management, London South Bank University
There is a debate about whether Leadership should be concentrated in one person or distributed among members of the team. Traditionally, a permanent team leader would be appointed by more senior levels of management or elected by the group. This technique relies on the assumption that one single person has all the strengths required. However, it has been argued that "on the best teams, different individuals provide occasional leadership, taking charge in areas where they have particular strengths.

This session will focus on the levels of Leadership and will distinguish three levels of Leadership:

Front-line or team Leadership - in which one person (the leader) is responsible for creating specific outcomes usually within a given timescale and with given resources through their own actions and those of their immediate followers (see our fact sheet on The role of front-line managers in HR for further information on their role, and their required qualities and skills).
Operational Leadership - which is to do with day-to-day operations within the organisation and is a major determinant of its culture and climate.
Strategic Leadership - about ‘big picture’ issues such as change, vision, translating that vision into purpose, effective communication, and the behaviour of the CEO and senior management team (also see below).

11:15 – 11:30       BREAK

11:30 – 12:30    ACHIEVING CULTURAL CHANGE THROUGH INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP

Speaker: Dr. Kulu Haruna Abubakar – Special Adviser, Ecological and Relief Matters (Sokoto State Government, Nigeria)
This session considers the nature and role of leadership in three ideal types of public management innovation: politically-led responses to crises, organizational turnarounds engineered by newly-appointed agency heads, and bottom-up innovations initiated by front-line public servants and middle managers. Quantitative results from public sector innovation awards indicate that bottom-up innovation occurs much more frequently than conventional wisdom would indicate. Effective political leadership in a crisis requires decision making that employs a wide search for information, broad consultation, and skeptical examination of a wide range of options. Successful leadership of a turnaround requires an agency head to regain political confidence, reach out to stakeholders and clients, and to convince dispirited staff that change is possible and that their efforts to do better will be supported. Political leaders and agency heads can create a supportive climate for bottom-up innovation by consulting staff, instituting formal awards and informal recognition for innovators, promoting innovators, protecting innovators from control-oriented central agencies, and publicly championing bottom-up innovations that have proven successful and have popular appeal.
THE CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE

12:30 – 1:00   Closing Key Note Speech by Clear Corporation UK

This session will bring to a close the seminar, highlighting the need for a change in mindset in Africa with a focus on key learning points of the seminar. Delegates will be challenged to think of ways to transfer learning back in their individual countries.

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