Safe hands or system shapers? Local authority chief executives and the future of place leadership in England

This paper furthers understanding of the capabilities and skills required to manage complex organisations and processes in a place leadership setting by examining the experiences of local authority chief executives during local government reorganisation in England. It provides new perspectives on place-leadership illuminating challenges and opportunities for senior leaders to lead effectively in a shifting governance landscape and identifying capabilities and skills local authority chief executives have drawn on in response. We identify three archetypes of chief executives (town clerks, relational enablers and architect co-designers) and extend leadership theory by outlining different capabilities place leaders need to address distinct problems.