Home > 'Living It' Awards > 'Living It' - November 2009

'Living It' - November 2009

November saw two staff being awarded the ‘Living It’ award for Leader of the Month. First was Carl Marshall from the Brasshouse Language Centre in the Adults & Communities Directorate; Carl was nominated by manager Nati Knight. Nati felt that Carl was able to make the BEST process and core values of the Council relevant to staff at the centre by tailoring the workshop to their needs and creating a bespoke Power Point presentation for the team. Carl’s work has resulted in a greater understanding and knowledge of each other’s roles and more trust between colleagues.

Also winning Leader of the Month for November was Paul Babra from the Hackney Carriage Licensing Team in the Chief Executive’s Directorate. Paul was nominated by his colleague Pete Watson, who felt that he had excelled in the role as BEST leader. Paul spent a great deal of time encouraging his colleagues to be productive and creative with their actions and made sure that there was a direct route from the outcomes of workshop discussions to the management team. Paul ensured that all ideas were listened to by senior staff and that the results were communicated back to the team via team meetings. This has really opened the channels of the communication for the team and improved trust. Paul looks at gaining feedback for the team and using different and fun methods to gain feedback to improve the way the team work. Paul also focuses on finding solutions to problems, listing down ideas and working through them systematically whilst constantly keeping in mind the need for service improvements. Paul truly lives the Council’s core values.

Team of the month for November were the Systems & Governance Team from Corporate Procurement Services within the Chief Executive Directorate. The team were nominated by Richard Tibbatts who felt that their proactive response to problems in the payment of invoices following the launch to Voyager, not only enhanced the way the team work as a whole, but it improved joint working with Accounts Payable and helped to create better systems for the future. The team shared their ideas and good practice with other local authorities demonstrating real trust and excellence. They also worked on communication within the team and feel that issues are now dealt with as soon as they arise in an honest and supportive environment.

Corporate Procurement Services had a successful month as they also celebrate Bob Carmichael winning the Senior Leader of the Month award. Bob’s team nominated him as they felt he is a shining example of the Council’s core values, celebrating the success of teams that do well and sharing those successes with others and praising staff for their input and contributions. Bob is very proactive when it comes to BEST, arranging networking meetings for his leaders so they can share experiences. He encourages his BEST leaders to develop their skills and confidence and supports them through this process.

Congratulations to all our winners on their success. If you would like to nominate someone or are looking for more information regarding the Monthly “Living It” Awards please contact Lucy L Kenny on 0121 675 1579, email BEST, or go to the 'Living It' section on this website.