What makes a good tech leader in local government

For any digital change journey, success hinges on good technical leadership. This is particularly true in local government, which often grapples with budget constraints, limited staff and urgent targets. Subsequently, technical leadership can potentially address hurdles that can slow projects.

While knowledge is essential, good leadership isn’t solely reliant on expertise, but the way this is demonstrated in a leader’s approach to change.

Good tech leaders often share similar values, however, leadership approaches will vary depending on the business and its goals. For local government organisations, its services to the community, in combination with broader government targets, will ultimately shape its leadership strategy.

Having clearly-defined goals that reflect these focus points is essential. Sector-specific challenges such as budget restrictions or moving goal posts, for example, must be taken into account to ensure goals are achievable.

These types of challenges make councils less agile to change than the private sector. However, the longer-term value that digital change has to ease constraints must be recognised by leaders. This can then be used to establish concise targets that are clearly communicated across the board.

In a dynamic digital landscape, being a good tech leader means ensuring change remains ongoing to reflect this. Local government leaders can do this by:

• regularly updating and reviewing processes
• identifying new opportunities for digital change
• prioritising these against their wider goals and restraints

Putting in these processes for continuous improvement is the mark of a good technical leader, helping to ensure that change projects don’t simply fall flat after completion.

People are a core part of any change project. However they are often neglected as the journey progresses. Particularly in local government, staff hesitancies towards digital change, along with knowledge gaps, can stifle progress if not addressed early.

Leaders who recognise the need for cultural change alongside digital change from the outset will be better set up for success. Ensuring staff remain supported, informed and motivated during each step of change could well be what determines how a project fares.

Being open to adapting and taking risks along the way is another clear sign of a good tech leader. Keeping people at the centre of this, staff should be given the space to help drive projects directly. Doing so will enable them to make meaningful contributions to council targets. Good tech leadership cannot thrive without this trust. In fact it often misses out on the value that the wider team can bring to driving projects.

While experience and razor-sharp expertise are what most will typically assume defines a good technical leader, the reality goes well beyond this. In local government, perhaps more than any other sector, clear goals that align with its purpose, processes for ongoing improvement and cultural change are crucial to making progress that sticks.