Earlier this month, Barry Omundson presented at the IPWEA Central and North Queensland Branch Conference in Rockhampton on a topic drawn from his own local government journey – The Depot to the Palace: The Roads to Cultural Recovery.
For many council employees, the phrase requires little explanation.
The depot represents the operational heart of a council. It is where roads are maintained, parks are cared for, water and sewerage systems are repaired and essential services are delivered.
The palace is often the nickname given to the administration building. It is where policies are developed, budgets are approved, strategies are prepared and decisions are made.
Both are essential.
Yet in many organisations, the relationship between the two can become strained.
Barry’s presentation began with a personal story.
Starting his career at Logan City Council, he worked in the depot and rarely visited head office. Like many operational employees, he developed views about “the palace” based largely on what he heard from others.
That changed when he became involved in the Local Government Management Challenge and started working alongside people from across the organisation. Relationships developed, understanding improved and barriers began to disappear. What had previously felt like two separate organisations started to operate more as one team.
The lesson has stayed with him throughout a career that has included senior leadership and Chief Executive Officer roles across multiple councils.
One of the key messages from the presentation was that culture does not develop by accident.
Leadership behaviour shapes organisational culture every day.
People observe what leaders say, what they do, what they reward and what they tolerate. Those behaviours influence how staff feel about their workplace, their colleagues and the organisation itself.
While councils often focus heavily on systems, compliance requirements and technical standards, Barry argues that performance ultimately comes down to people.
Motivated staff working within a positive culture will usually find a way to solve problems, deliver services and meet community expectations. The opposite is also true.
The presentation explored a common pattern found across many organisations.
Operational teams often feel disconnected from decision-making processes.
Administrative teams can become removed from the practical realities of service delivery.
When communication weakens, assumptions fill the gaps.
Priorities become unclear. Work is repeated. Decisions are revisited. Resources are used less effectively than they could be.
These issues are rarely caused by poor intent. More often, they arise because people have stopped talking, listening and learning from each other.
Another theme Barry explored was the transition from technical expertise to leadership.
Many councils promote talented employees because they are highly capable in their operational roles. The best operator, supervisor or technical specialist is often the logical choice for promotion.
The challenge is that technical capability and leadership capability are not the same thing.
Leading people requires a different set of skills. Communication, coaching, decision-making, self-awareness and emotional intelligence become increasingly important. Without support and development, even highly capable employees can struggle in leadership roles.
This is one reason Barry has become a strong advocate for leadership development and assessment tools such as Hogan Assessments, which help individuals better understand their strengths, risks and leadership style.
The solutions discussed during the presentation were not complicated.
They included:
As Barry noted, leadership does not only exist in the executive suite. It exists throughout the organisation. Every supervisor, coordinator, manager and executive contributes to the culture people experience each day.
The depot and the palace will always have different responsibilities.
One focuses on service delivery. The other focuses on governance, planning and decision-making.
The strongest councils recognise that these functions are not competing priorities. They are complementary parts of the same organisation.
When communication improves, priorities are understood and leaders invest in people, performance often improves without major structural change.
The road from the depot to the palace is not about hierarchy.
It is about understanding.
And councils that build that understanding are often the councils best placed to deliver for their communities.
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A reflection from experience for CEOs and senior leaders. Leadership roles carry constant pressure, visibility and demand. Over time, it is possible to keep performing while something more personal begins to slip, often gradually and easy to explain away.
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