Stepping forward: Becoming an ADASS Trustee bolstered my leadership skills, and it could do the same for you

By Melanie Williams, ADASS Immediate Past President and Executive Director – People Services at West Northamptonshire Council.

As I approach the end of my year as Immediate Past President of ADASS, and prepare to step down from the Board of Trustees, it feels like the right moment to reflect on my journey with ADASS which began when I took on the Mental Health Policy Lead role seven years ago.

At that time, I had no idea that my passion for mental health law reform would lead to Presidency and national leadership, but it did! As well as sharing my successes and thoughts on social care leadership, I am also hoping I can convince you as a reader to take on policy leadership roles, to think about becoming an ADASS Trustee, and maybe even to consider the qualities that you have that would lead you to become President too.

A good place to start seems to be to say that I have had an incredible time in all these leadership roles. The stand out thing that is particularly special are the people. The relationships, the friendships, and the connections, all made possible through this work. People have both have challenged me, and bought joy. The insight and learning through these incredible relationships has enabled me to become a much better DASS and at the same time has meant I have been able to share that insight and learning in so many places. What a privilege.

My drive for social justice and mental health reform pushed me into applying for the Mental Health Policy Lead role. The thought of election was dreadful, and it really took a lot of reserve to convince myself that going through election was a risk worth taking…it was.

Through that work I built an amazing network of colleagues who worked locally, or led for regions or had national roles. The timing was great as I led on the mental health law reform and was part of the national oversight work for both Mental Health Act and Liberty Proection Safeguards. Having worked nationally before, and with some experience in policy, it felt natural to take a role that enabled me to link up our local intelligence to the national stage, and to feel that social care had influence and could bring about national changes.

At times those changes could be very small, but I found the Mental Health Minister at that time, DHSC Director General for Mental Health and NHS England (NHSE) National Director all so receptive to my views, keen to listen and test my thinking. They just wanted to know what action could make a difference. A great example was social care and health inequality recognised in the Community Mental Health Transformation Framework. Endless hours of NHSE meetings paid off on that occasion. We still have a way to go to understand what good looks like for mental health and social care and where integration adds to enabling someone to live a good life. Equally, with how we support our approved mental health practitioners to have maximum impact, areas the mental health network continue to grapple with.

The role of our policy networks and how we have impact both within our 153 Councils, our regions and upwards to government has been debated through my time in ADASS and was a hot topic at the time I braved a further election and took on the Policy Trustee role. Here I was really keen to build our approach to coproduction and networks, and to work through how they support us to generate change with national policy. Through that role, I enjoyed great support and challenge with closer relationships with Think Local Act Personal, Social Care Futures and National Coproduction Group.

What I love about coproduction is that there is no right answer, and there are always a different views and ways of listening and partnering with people. I was proud to test boundaries at our events with encouraging people to talk their stories, developing the Big Chat concept with Impower at NCASC, and getting the conversation growing for how ADASS can test our ways of working too. Through this work I was inspired, had very uncomfortable discussions at times, but ultimately feel I bought about change so people were more visible and more heard on a national stage. I also made friends.

My time has a Trustee also gave me the chance to support ADASS. As we recovered from the pandemic, it was clear to many of us that we need to adapt our ways of working to meet expectations of you as Members and at the same time grow our impact with partners, not least DHSC. Through my trusteeship I was encouraged to think about Presidency – something I always said I would never do – and to grow the confidence it would be something I could do.

Early on that took a lot of encouragement, and that encouragement from Trustee colleagues has been an important part of my leadership development. Throughout my three-year Presidency term – as Vice President, President and now Immediate Past President – the other Trustees and ADASS staff team have worked with my imposter syndrome, shared my successes when we have influenced in a positive way, propped me up when I have doubts about making a big speech, and have shared their wisdom on countless occasions. Being a Trustee enabled me to make a stepped change as a Leader and a DASS, and is probably one of the most important career decisions I made.

Through my three-year Presidency term, I have seen ADASS change and grow in response to your feedback, and importantly feel more diverse and inclusive. I have seen the promise of reform and investment kicked down the road, and the hope we continue to hold invested in the Casey Commission. We have impacted in policy areas such as Neighbourhood Health, Preparation for Adulthood, CQC Assessment, but have seen stagnation in areas which support people with specific needs such Learning Disability, Autism, mental health, justice and carers as attention instead directs to NHS reorganisation. It feels to me that we are not achieving social justice in the way we would like.

My hope for ADASS as I step down is that we continue to support the lives of Directors and their senior team as we juggle endless budget rounds, grapple with the new CQC Assurance process, watch our relationships with health colleagues shift as they face yet another restructure, and support our elected Members to understand how Councils can deliver good care and support.

If you are a Director of Adult Social Services who cares deeply about social justice, national influence and the future of our profession, I would wholeheartedly encourage you to consider putting yourself forward to serve as an ADASS Trustee – you may find, as I did, that it is one of the most rewarding and transformative leadership decisions you make.