Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

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JohnToo
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by JohnToo » 3 years ago

Announcement of a new (albeit interim) Chief Exec of CUK....

.... which manages not once to mention whether he is a cyclist himself, let alone whether he was a member of CUK.

https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release ... -executive
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Joan
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Joan » 3 years ago

JohnToo wrote:
3 years ago
Announcement of a new (albeit interim) Chief Exec of CUK....

.... which manages not once to mention whether he is a cyclist himself, let alone whether he was a member of CUK.

https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release ... -executive
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Iris
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Iris » 3 years ago

The man is (a) available now, (b) experienced at leading complex organisations with lots of public and volunteer engagement and (c) has real experience of lobbying and political engagement.

All are far more important than whether he's a bike rider or a member of the organisation. I'm both, and an experienced manager and leader of people at a very senior level. I'd be completely out of my depth leading that sort of organisation.
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JohnToo
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by JohnToo » 3 years ago

Iris wrote:
3 years ago
The man is (a) available now, (b) experienced at leading complex organisations with lots of public and volunteer engagement and (c) has real experience of lobbying and political engagement.

All are far more important than whether he's a bike rider or a member of the organisation. I'm both, and an experienced manager and leader of people at a very senior level. I'd be completely out of my depth leading that sort of organisation.
What you say is current orthodoxy- that organisations are defined by their structures and ways of working, not their objectives or outputs, and what matters in a leader is their skill at managing the type of organisation, not their identification with the objectives. I happen to disagree. I think there is such a thing as integrity, and organisations that are led by managers who don't identify with the objectives tend to lose their soul and their direction.

I do not think it is a good thing that a Footsie 100 engineering company can have no engineer executive directors, that the Samaritans can be run by a non-volunteer, or that a cycling charity could be led by a non-cyclist.
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Iris
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Iris » 3 years ago

That isn't current orthodoxy, actually. A great deal of emphasis is placed in management theory and practice on alignment between managers and organisational objectives. It can lead to absurdities like some stock option awards, which can lead to short termism, but in general it helps.

There's a big difference between alignment of objectives and what you talk about in your last paragraph, which is hands-on experience at a very technical level.

I think it's absurd that a FTSE100 engineering company can think it can be run without engineering expertise, or financial expertise, or customer service expertise. But that's a matter of professional competence, not alignment of objectives. I don't see why Samaritans shouldn't be run by a non volunteer, as long as the volunteer expertise is there at the top table and adequately respected. The best management teams have a blend of professional backgrounds with strong mutual respect. Again, that's management orthodoxy, but it is backed up by evidence.
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by JohnToo » 3 years ago

Iris wrote:
3 years ago
...

There's a big difference between alignment of objectives and what you talk about in your last paragraph, which is hands-on experience at a very technical level.
....
It's not so much the hands-on experience, I don't think, as breathing the same air.
Iris wrote:
3 years ago
That isn't current orthodoxy, actually. A great deal of emphasis is placed in management theory and practice on alignment between managers and organisational objectives. It can lead to absurdities like some stock option awards, which can lead to short termism, but in general it helps.
I think organisations fare better when their leaders are actually motivated by the goals of the organisation, rather than needing to be artificially motivated by secondary means such as money.
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Iris
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Iris » 3 years ago

JohnToo wrote:
3 years ago
I think organisations fare better when their leaders are actually motivated by the goals of the organisation, rather than needing to be artificially motivated by secondary means such as money.
That is straight out of the management training manual. Every time I've ever recruited for a job I've looked at that as a significant factor, alongside basic professional competence. But there are many ways to demonstrate that alignment.
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by ransos » 3 years ago

Iris wrote:
3 years ago
The man is (a) available now, (b) experienced at leading complex organisations with lots of public and volunteer engagement and (c) has real experience of lobbying and political engagement.
Which tells us that he has the tools to be successful. But at what?
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Joan » 3 years ago

ransos wrote:
3 years ago
Which tells us that he has the tools to be successful. But at what?
I think they have appointed a caretaker, to keep the organisation ticking along until "autumn". And that is a huge mistake. Have you been out there? I was in London (where I accidentally ran into a friend in Trafalgar Square; what are the chances? 🤨), and it's a cycling mecca. Families out enjoying the quiet and closed roads, cyclists just swarming over the streets. And with bunch rides pretty well verboten, none of the intimidation the mamils can bring. The public are on the verge of rediscovering their love of cycling. I could imagine a cycling charity using this as a lever to make long term changes to cycling policy, but someone who has a long career in sports administration isn't the person to drive that, nor is an interim leader of any sort.
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The Real Ravenhurst
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by The Real Ravenhurst » 3 years ago

ransos wrote:
3 years ago
Which tells us that he has the tools to be successful. But at what?
This is the point, of course. I'm sure none of us have forgotten that about ten years ago we had a mahoosive and somewhat bitter row about what the organisation is for, and those of us who thought it should act in its members' interests lost that battle to those who thought it should aim to win as many government contracts as possible. I daresay he's quite aligned with the latter sort of goals.
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Iris » 3 years ago

Joan wrote:
3 years ago
I think they have appointed a caretaker, to keep the organisation ticking along until "autumn". And that is a huge mistake. Have you been out there? I was in London (where I accidentally ran into a friend in Trafalgar Square; what are the chances? 🤨), and it's a cycling mecca. Families out enjoying the quiet and closed roads, cyclists just swarming over the streets. And with bunch rides pretty well verboten, none of the intimidation the mamils can bring. The public are on the verge of rediscovering their love of cycling. I could imagine a cycling charity using this as a lever to make long term changes to cycling policy, but someone who has a long career in sports administration isn't the person to drive that, nor is an interim leader of any sort.
In concept you're partly right, but at the best of times senior recruitment takes months. You simply cannot appoint anything other than an interim CEO inside a month. Any candidate not immediately available will be on at least six months notice. Appointing someone just because they're available is even worse than not appointing at all.

Now is not the best of times.Tuohy seems to have left quite quickly, and without securing a successor. Which is either his or the Board's failure - and possibly both.

On your last point. In order to encourage cycling among the great unmembership, someone with a long career in sports admin is perfect. As long as that experience includes a lot of what you're asking for - getting people who don't currently do the thing to do it. The quotes from CUK literally say that is what he is looking to do.
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Iris
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Iris » 3 years ago

The Real Ravenhurst wrote:
3 years ago
This is the point, of course. I'm sure none of us have forgotten that about ten years ago we had a mahoosive and somewhat bitter row about what the organisation is for, and those of us who thought it should act in its members' interests lost that battle to those who thought it should aim to win as many government contracts as possible. I daresay he's quite aligned with the latter sort of goals.
It did occur to me too late (esprit d'escalier) that John's complaint about the leadership of Samaritans was similarly misguided.

Organisations which act mainly in the interests of their employees/members/volunteers are doomed to irrelevance. What's important is that they act in the interests of service users and potential service users.
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Rutabaga » 3 years ago

Cyclists' Touring CLUB
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Iris
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by Iris » 3 years ago

Even when it was a club, it wasn't just a club, or even mainly a club.
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LowlifeDes
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Re: Small lobbying gains or self delusion?

Post by LowlifeDes » 3 years ago

Iris wrote:
3 years ago
Even when it was a club, it wasn't just a club, or even mainly a club.
It must have been, at least at some point.
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