Mentoring and facilitation

Stepping up to this role can be a major undertaking for managers, not only due to the challenges of the role itself, but also the need to hold down a substantial day job. To support senior civil servants in this role, many organisations are now supplementing standard training courses with one-to-one coaching and mentoring. This is an effective way of rapidly injecting and developing directly relevant skills that can be applied straight away.

• Identify the key requirements of this role in the context of your organisation and the programme(s) for which you are responsible.
• Identify and address any gaps between the requirements of the role and your current skills and abilities as the Senior Responsible Owner.
• Be clear about your generic personal development needs versus your needs on a specific programme - you may gain more insight by stepping back from the programme in order to see your broaderbased needs.
• Form your team by bringing in individuals with a supportive mind-set and an ability to get onto your "page"; this will also help you to sustain momentum.
• Be open to the needs of staff - many have quite straightforward needs, such as seeing managers "walk the talk" and knowing that although there is change, existing skills will not be discarded.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of the programme.
• Choose the right pace - change programmes often start with a flurry of activity, when what is needed is often a low-key start, gradually building in momentum.
• Recognise that for policy-making environments, bridging policy into delivery is likely to be a major challenge for the organisation.
• Use clear, consistent and regular communication with all staff and management to win the hearts and minds of the people on the programme and those affected by it.
• Create a robust stake-holder engagement plan and implement it.
• Focus on your personal prioritisation.