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The public sector, instead of operating as a coherent system, often functions as a collection of isolated silos, with departments and agencies failing to connect their work on complex, cross-cutting issues. This fragmentation means that we narrowly focus on our own policy and priority areas, overlooking the interconnectedness of problems and creating solutions that can conflict with or undermine the efforts of others. This disconnect is evident in inconsistent policy-making, data that is trapped within organisational boundaries, and a breakdown in collaboration that ultimately hinders the effective delivery of public services.
Housing people largely talk to housing people. Health people to health people. Education to education. Justice to Justice.
You can’t blame the people working within it, as the system itself is designed to be siloed and short term, which is illustrated by the turnover of the ministers mandated to lead the very same system. As we know, the purpose of a system is what it does.
There is now a small but growing enlightenment – as the whole ecosystem becomes stretched to breaking point. The system must be remade.
Yesterday I was invited by Alice Gregson to talk with a group of Education Leaders for the #TrustLeaders COO Conference 2025 which focused on a critical mandate for public sector viability: operational excellence through strategic partnerships.
While we covered essential operational challenges—from managing the financial viability crisis (with nearly 60% of Academy Trusts reporting an in-year deficit) to leveraging AI and technology—the central message was a fundamental shift in leadership philosophy: the absolute necessity of adopting a form of ‘community enabling leadership‘.
This pivotal need for systemic change was highlighted by a crucial tension: the “end user as customer culture now appears to eclipse a belief in the role of end user as participant”. This observation confirms that public expectations, rewired since the pandemic, now demand far more from public services. By endlessly striving to provide all the solutions ourselves, public sector institutions remove responsibility and create a dependency among those around us that is unsustainable, both financially and societally.
Enabling, Not Absorbing, Responsibility
Community enabling leadership is a collaborative approach where leaders facilitate growth and innovation by empowering community members and other stakeholders to take ownership and contribute their unique skills and perspectives, rather than dominating the process. It’s leader as connector rather than leader as boss.
This shift is no longer a philosophical goal; it is a strategic necessity. When communities are enabled, organisations can build back trust, encourage participation and involvement, make access easier, and help people feel safe and included. This focus contributes to a good business model, as demonstrated by organisations like the Co-op, where the question of whether something is right always reverts to “how do our communities’ benefit?”.
The Power of Place and Partnership
The deep financial constraints faced by the public sector now confirms that isolated operational optimisation is insufficient. The path to systemic viability lies in radical partnership working. Partnerships are crucial due to growing needs, rising costs, and the increasing importance of community and place-based links.
This realisation mandates a decisive shift toward place-based working, which acknowledges that community is the most effective unit of change.
Effective partnerships, particularly those forged across localities, must be relational first, not transactional only. They require a shared, compelling narrative, a sense of trust, mutual respect, and commitment that is sustainable over time.
Successful models illustrate how and place-based principles can be structurally embedded:
- The Wigan Deal: Born from financial crisis, public services in Wigan implemented a radical philosophical overhaul centered on asset-based working. The Deal functioned as an informal social contract, empowering frontline staff to redesign their work and shifting focus from community deficits to inherent strengths. Its core aim was the co-production of capacity, where citizens actively participate (“Your Part”) to reduce high-cost demand for statutory services, confirming demand reduction as a core financial mechanism.
- The Finnish Education System: This system provides a powerful model rooted in decades of political consensus and high professional trust. Finland operationalises a form of community enabling leadership through decentralised governance, mandating that local municipalities and individual schools prepare their local curriculum with community input. This is the co-production of relevance, ensuring education trains students for life and reflects local priorities. Furthermore, Finland structurally integrates proactive, preventative well-being services—such as school nurses, psychologists, and social workers—directly into the school environment, acting as the crucial bridge connecting the school, home, and community.
True community enabling leadership demands that we finally dismantle the persistent silos separating public services. A child’s educational attainment is deeply linked to the quality of their housing; a resident’s physical health often depends on their local support networks and learning environment. When major public sector bodies—including health, housing, and education—choose to move beyond merely coordinating services and instead commit to genuine integrated partnership, they stop being passive providers and start becoming powerful, collective enablers.
How do you build resilience into systems? As was said at the event:
“We need to be system shapers and system stewards – seeking ways to create the system we want, not be passive victims of it”
The pivot we need to make is from viewing the end user as a demanding customer to viewing them as an essential, contributing participant.
Related: How Can We Create Systems Where Knowledge Becomes Contagious?