At the SPDS conference, Chief Executive of Argyll and Bute Council,Pippa Milne, and Organisational Development Programme Manager for Improvement Service, Amanda Spark, shared an update on the Improvement Service and SOLACE’s Transformation Programme.

The Programme has three workstreams: a longer term project looking at public service reform (1), short-term transformation projects (2) and work around improving capability to lead and deliver the required transformation work (3). The third workstream is critical in enabling the first two, as capability is the foundation which will drive successful transformation delivery.

“Transformation isn’t easy,” said Milne. “This is difficult not just because of the capacity we need in the sector to contribute to this work on top of the day job, but it’s raising big questions that not everyone is ready for. Not everyone is ready for us to be leading on that change.”

In developing the capacity and transformation capability, the aim is to offer the opportunity for networking and building relationships, provide a reflective space, create a trusting environment and enable peer support and the sharing of practice and learning. The overarching ambition for leadership development is to deliver confident and competent leaders who deliver radical change, successful collaborations and transformed public services across Scotland.

“I have a strong view that in the public sector, we probably have the least investment in leadership and development than any other sector,” said Milne. “Austerity has made us almost embarrassed about investing in ourselves. But that is a false economy, so how can we look at different models. What are the skills that we haven’t got?”

To explore the state of leadership development in the sector and offer ideas for improvement, the Improvement Service is surveying all 32 Scottish councils to gather information, uncover future plans and aspirations and harness interest in collaborating across councils. “If we’re talking about transformation and reform and different models of service delivery, what is the leadership that needs to go with that?” asked Spark, urging: “Let’s remember the importance of collaboration and pulling together our minds and our resources and think about what we could do going forward.”

Early survey results show a need to “move away from traditional leadership and embrace a new, modern mindset” and an appetite for more sharing and collaboration, such as ideas for cross-organisational coaching and shadowing opportunities or secondments between councils.

Conference attendees were invited to discuss in tables what future leadership skills and capability look like, and how to take a more coordinated approach on developing them.

Leadership skills of the future included:

• EQ: Understanding self and others
• Visionary thinking: articulating a clear and compelling vision of the future
• Leading in the hybrid world
• Knowing how to get out of the way
• Clearly, concisely and consistent communication of strategic vision and how to achieve it

Opportunities and ideas for collaboration included:

• Securing commitment from HR leaders on developing a joined-up approach to leadership development
• Using pre-existing leadership programmes, not reinventing the wheel
• Developing practical toolkits and common resources
• Creating a graduate leadership role across all local authorities, similar to the Civil Service Fast Track scheme
• Developing a shared set of leadership competencies across councils
• Creating a shared aspiring leaders cohort

Find out more about the SOLACE/IS Transformation Programme here.

Contact Amanda Spark for more information or to find out how to get involved.

Blog by Katie Jacobs, an award-winning freelance journalist, writer and editor, who specialises in writing about the world of work.

She was previously Editor of HR Magazine and Senior Stakeholder Lead at the CIPD.