5.15 — weeknotes — 10 years of shared IT service — roundtable — bank holiday :-)

Brought all my managers together this week as part of our Mission Leadership meetings. A bit of coming together with purpose, good to see people in the building — it creates a real buzz and you have better conversations that is for sure. One of the things we did was a mini desktop exercise on cyber security if there was an issue — a bit of a run through and review of the plan. Couldn’t have really done that on line.

On Wednesday this week went to have a drink in Kingston as part of their 10th birthday celebrations. 10 years of the amazing shared service is quite impressive and it really does feel like it’s gone from strength to strength. Really nice to catch up with colleagues and have to mention David Grasty who has been an integral part of the success — massive well done!

I also hosted a roundtable discussion with PSI Group, Socitm and Virgin on How digital can meet citizen needs in times of economic pressure. There were a number of councils invited to share their views. I broadly kept to the agenda and covered all the topics, actually not sure that I did really as I was enjoying the conversation so much. But was really good to see the challenges and the similarities that colleagues from across the country has. A number of takeaways as always when I do things like this.

Had a special Level 7 session this week with Helen Sanderson — who has done an amazing amount of work on self management in teams in health and care. There were some really practical discussions and things to try building on her experience. Really interesting stuff! Lots to think about for Hounslow! https://wellbeingteams.org/

Sad news on Wednesday at the death of Tina Turner, such an icon. Some amazing tunes and she bought some difficult topics centre stage. A career spanning 60 years which is incredible. A total icon.

Another Bank Holiday weekend — woohoo!

Tune of the Week: too many to choose from. Tina Turner — Proud Mary — Live Wembley (2000)