Background and Challenges
Hart District Council originally commissioned Trueman Change to support senior leaders through the people and culture implications of Local Government Reorganisation.
The programme was designed to help leaders navigate uncertainty, strengthen confidence and alignment, and deliberately shape the culture needed for the future.
Following the pause in LGR, however, Hart’s context changed. Rather than continuing with a programme designed around reorganisation, the council had an opportunity to think more broadly about its own future direction and the organisational change needed to deliver it.
Trueman Change Involvement
We reframed the first session around the changed context, helping senior leaders reflect on what had changed, what remained important and what Hart now needed from its leadership team.
The session combined organisational psychology with practical approaches to change, including the psychology of uncertainty, motivation and autonomy, change and transition, different risk and reward mindsets and techniques for building greater tolerance of uncertainty. We also covered our much loved “cats and cheese” exercise to help leaders understand their own mindsets.
Leaders co-produced a leadership charter, committing to greater clarity, consistency, visibility, honesty and collective accountability as the organisation moves through change.
Outcomes and Solutions
The first session helped the leadership team shift the conversation from waiting for external decisions towards considering the future Hart wanted to create.
Participants identified ambitions for the council to be forward-thinking, high-performing, resilient and recognised for excellent services, while retaining the strongest elements of its existing culture.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of developing Hart’s capability to lead change well - not simply delivering individual projects, but strengthening culture, staff engagement and the confidence of leaders and managers throughout the organisation.
Further sessions will be based around culture and staff engagement, as the council forms it’s own transformation plans outside of the LGR Programme.
Added Value
The programme was deliberately designed to be flexible rather than tied to a fixed LGR agenda.
Following the change in national direction, Trueman Change was able to pivot the work towards Hart’s developing 2030 plan, helping senior leaders apply organisational psychology at the beginning of a new change programme rather than waiting until problems emerge.
The remaining sessions will build on this foundation, with proposed work around culture, practical change capability and staff engagement.
