Leadership Stories 2019
Iwan Davies, Chief Executive, Conwy County Borough Council
How have your life experiences helped make you the leader you are today?
Key life experiences: team sports, lead roles in school musicals, my parents’ divorce, going to university, working as a commercial lawyer in London, the death of my older sister, coming ‘home’ to work, Open University MBA, absorbing influences from the good, the bad and the ugly in colleagues and bosses: but mostly, being married to the loveliest, most compassionate and caring person I have ever met.
What have been your proudest moments since taking up your leadership role with Conwy County Borough Council?
The opening of our new Council offices in Colwyn Bay in 2018. The Council had had several false starts in seeking a resolution to a long-standing office accommodation problem: after all, building shiny new offices for the public sector is rarely going to be popular with the public. But it has been wonderful to see the transformative impact of the offices on colleagues, customers and my hometown.
What have been the most helpful things you have learnt from these times and from working with your colleagues?
Doing the right thing, even if it’s not likely to be universally popular; creating a shared dream; empowering colleagues but nudging, influencing and being there to be accountable for the tougher issues.
Tell us about a time or two when you have had to display courage in your leadership role
As mentioned above, creating shiny new council offices is rarely going to be a universally popular endeavour, so driving that forward required some courage – but it was the right thing to do.
There are also occasions when I have to challenge inappropriate behaviour by people within my organisation in circumstances that could be career limiting – but it is always the right thing to do.
What do you think are the biggest leadership issues facing us in Wales in 2019?
The ‘big stuff’ is the rising demand for services (especially social care services) at a time of reducing resources, and the uncertainty surrounding the impact of Brexit. But there is also the endemic nastiness of anonymous on-line abuse and the undermining of dedicated hard-working people, which can have such a debilitating impact.
Which other leaders in Wales do you admire and why?
I admire all the passionate, dedicated, leaders at all levels within the public sector (especially in local government) who continue to lead in the extremely challenging environment that we have experienced in the past 10 years and that we’re likely to endure for years to come.
What is one word that sums up leadership for you?
Integrity.
Sarah King, Director of Human Resources, Gower College Swansea
How have your life experiences helped make you the leader you are today?
As a senior manager working in Human Resources I have experienced to a wide range of difficult and challenging situations.
This has given me significant insight into the challenges and difficulties people face in their lives, providing me a perspective and a frame of reference based around values, integrity and fairness.
What have been your proudest moments since taking up your leadership role with Gower College Swansea organisation?
I have been very fortunate and delighted to achieve recognition for my work at the college by being awarded the HR ‘Director of the Year’, for the last two years at the HR Wales Awards and the HR ‘Star of the year 2019’ which is the overall HR award for the profession.
It is hugely important to me that HR plays a supportive role and has a positive impact on the culture of an organisation, which l believe we have managed to achieve at GCS.
What have been the most helpful things you have learnt from these times and from working with your colleagues?
During my career, I have sometimes worked in teams that are not functioning as one team. I have learnt from experience; how vitally important it is to get your team united and to promote and get ‘buy in’ to your vision and goals. Without this support, it is not possible to achieve objectives on your own.
Tell us about a time or two when you have had to display courage in your leadership role
One morning last year, I received a call to say that one of our most loved managers, with over 20 years’ service had died suddenly at the age of 50. I knew in that moment, that a situation not dissimilar to the Princess Diana tragedy was about to unfold at the college. I knew I had to give strong leadership by displaying care, respect and courage to support our grieving staff. The hardest professional challenge of my career came when I stood alongside her husband, as he broke the tragic news to her team and the rest of the college.
What do you think are the biggest leadership issues facing us in Wales in 2019?
Working within a public sector organisation but which also relies heavily on private sector organisations for students and training contracts, means that the current political instability and the uncertainty around Brexit has created significant challenges for leaders especially around planning, funding and the motivation of staff. As a college leader, I am also affected by local issues such as poverty and deprivation and the international challenges such as automation and globalisation.
Which other leaders in Wales do you admire and why?
There are many great leaders in Wales. I admire those who have achieved success through hard work, determination but also by possessing an entrepreneurial flair and business acumen, such as Hayley Parsons, Laura Tenison and Anna Bastek.
What is one word that sums up leadership for you?
Passion.
Tracy Myhill, Chief Executive, Swansea Bay University Health Board
How have your life experiences helped make you the leader you are today?
I was born in the Valleys, with little money and no luxuries but rich in love, support, and stability.
I’ve had a career which has been an incredible journey taking me from a receptionist to CEO.
Whilst working as HR Director I fell in love and married my PA – we were both married women to men with two children each. We have been together now for 20 years and our ex-husbands are our best friends.
All of these experiences make me the authentic, caring, engaging human leader I am today.
What have been your proudest moments since taking up your leadership role within the NHS
There have been many proud moments, but at the Health Board, by taking a highly visible leadership style, I have started to see a restoring of faith in our people and partners. I receive many comments such as, ‘if anyone can enable our organisation to be successful this CEO can’, ‘things feel different’ and ‘she cares’. Now there is an optimism which wasn’t there when I arrived, and this has enabled improved delivery against every area of performance.
In my previous role as Welsh Ambulance CEO, restoring pride and ambition and becoming a world leading service will always be a career highlight for me.
What have been the most helpful things you have learnt from these times and from working with your colleagues?
I have learned never to assume you know what is going on in your organisation. Engage, listen, and demonstrate that you want to hear the real experience of people you serve, employ, and partner with.
Leadership is a contact sport and people need to see ‘the whites of your eyes’.
Caring for the people we lead is important: We are all human, vulnerable, and fallible including, the CEO and that’s ok to show.
We must serve those we employ not expect them to serve us: Our people have the answers, we don’t.
Tell us about a time or two when you have had to display courage in your leadership role
Particular occasions come to mind: Facing significant media scrutiny as CEO Welsh Ambulance Service, personally stepping up to be the ‘face’ of a service under significant pressure facing severe criticism required courage.
Also, when having to face public scrutiny and questioning over the very sad death of one of our patients where we could have done better. Being generally accessible to and open with patients when things haven’t gone well is absolutely the right thing to do but not easy.
Explaining to my bosses when they posed significant risks to the organisations’ success was quite a challenge too.
What do you think are the biggest leadership issues facing us in Wales in 2019?
The ability to set strong direction with a bright future, empowering and motivating others to believe, and remaining connected, are all definite leadership challenges and opportunities.
Having worked in the NHS for the majority of my career, I believe that as we live longer all sector leaders can enable us to age well, through support for lifestyle changes which prevent illness.
For the public sector more widely, austerity and rising – potentially insatiable – demands are requiring exceptional leadership so that Wales can prosper.
I also think that changing expectations of our people mean that employers and education institutions need to offer flexibility and mobility like never before.
Which other leaders in Wales do you admire and why?
I have learned and been inspired by many people throughout my career but in particular:
Cerys Furlong CEO Chwarae Teg – for her humility, determination, and being a powerful force for fairness;
Mick Giannasi CBE Chair of Social Care Wales – for his partnership approach and duty of care to those around him; and
Dr Andrew Goodall CBE Director General Health and Social Services / CEO NHS Wales – for his integrity and ability to hold to leaders to account respectfully.
What is one word that sums up leadership for you?
Privilege
Tracey Rankine, Detective Chief Inspector (DCI), South Wales Police
How have your life experiences helped make you the leader you are today?
A thread throughout my life experiences has been to value the people around you. Whether in a University sports team, as ‘social secretary’ of a friendship group or within employment – if you listen, advise and empower the people you are with, their confidence will grow and any self-inflicted constraints will disappear. I’ve been lucky to experience this with my own managers, allowing me to do the same with my own teams.
What have been your proudest moments since taking up your leadership role with South Wales Police?
As a DCI in the capital of Wales, leading a team of incredibly hardworking officers who want protect the vulnerable and prosecute those who harm them. The volume of high threat and risk incidents to investigate is immense, amongst a backdrop of financial challenges and limited resources. The successes they have achieved in removing the harm from our streets is phenomenal. I couldn’t be prouder of them!
What have been the most helpful things you have learnt from these times and from working with your colleagues?
Being patient. Appreciating that departments in my Organisation and Public Services operate within different thresholds and constraints.
Being brave. Challenging un-fair requests with external Partners or making bold internal decisions to deviate from comfortable situations which are not necessary the most effective.
Being a team. Multi-agency working when safeguarding the vulnerable and managing offenders is crucial, as working collectively has greater influence to get things done than silo working.
Tell us about a time or two when you have had to display courage in your leadership role.
The early stages of a child abuse investigation involved tracing persons ‘possibly’ in contact with the perpetrator in order to arrest him. We had limited actionable information and risked tipping him off, driving him underground. I decided to wait for one piece of information before taking action. Waiting gave me a sleepless night but proved invaluable as we located the perpetrator who is now serving a significant sentence.
What do you think are the biggest leadership issues facing us in Wales in 2019?
Within the Police Service our capability and capacity has been constrained by austerity for several years, and the complexity of our growing demand continues to increase. Continued economic uncertainty could impact adversely on our communities of Wales, particularly if the funding we have previously relied on for modernisation projects is lost.
Which other leaders in Wales do you admire and why?
Actor Michael Sheen. Some young women cannot attend school as a result of not being able to afford sanitary products. Michael champions the ‘Hey Girls’ social enterprise to tackle period poverty and leads on the ‘Pads for Dads’ campaign which encourages fathers to feel more confident in speaking to their daughters about periods.
What is one word that sums up leadership for you?
Authenticity
