The chief executive of South Kesteven District Council has spoken of her 'daunting' start caused by the pandemic.

Karen Bradford also details how the council has responded to such difficult times in an article in The MJ, a trade publication for senior council staff, including chief executives.

Mrs Bradford, who started at SKDC on March 2, from Gedling Borough Council, where she had also been its chief executive, spoke of her first hundred days in her new role.

Chief executives are under the spotlight' from councillors to staff at such a time, but the lockdown , which started three weeks after her start date, made for 'precious little time' to build the relationships needed.

She said: "The platform was already on fire and, to put it mildly, it was daunting."

Mrs Bradford continued: "One of the first things I did was organise our response; establish an incident room staffed by two core emergency planning teams, with clear roles and responsibilities.

"Initially, I chaired the daily meetings with the council's leader, Cllr Kelham Cooke. Then I trusted those teams, and the leaders I had put in place, to chair the daily briefings and manage the day-to-day running of those teams.

"Together with Cllr Cooke, we set out our three priorities of protecting the health of our staff and our residents, maintaining our critical services and supporting our local businesses.

"That golden thread has run through everything that we have done during lockdown and remains our cornerstone in terms of policy, operation, and communication. I am proud to say that we continue to deliver, despite the difficult odds."

After praising Coun Cooke for doing "South Kesteven proud on every level", Mrs Bradford says the key to being a successful leader is having the right team behind you.

She added: "You can't do it alone. It may not have been the start I would have hoped for, but the team has risen to the challenge and together, we have learned a lot.

"This will be invaluable as we enter the next phase of this pandemic and fight off this virus, without losing focus on the future. Local leadership has never been under such scrutiny, nor so vital."

The full article can be read here.