I was at Workforce Scotland’s event ‘Flourishing Workforce’ on
Thursday and what an inspiring event it was.
This was in part due to the participatory nature of the
event, with key listeners rather than speakers, but also the sheer commitment from
90 plus participants engaged in shaping and leading a future Scotland.
Some key themes
that emerged from the day were: in
redefining the workforce and the workplace we need to move away from an egotistic type of leadership where it’s all about
the leaders and what they are going to achieve/change, to one where there is an
emphasis on collaboration and developing
the creative capacity of all staff. Less of the ‘I’ want , ‘ I’ am going to, ‘I’ need ,
to an emphasis on demonstrating values through behaviours There were
some fantastic examples of a council fully engaging staff in generating ideas
for budgetary cuts and reshaping services. There was a very strong message of
tapping into the knowledge, expertise
and ingenuity of staff rather than bringing in independent
consultants. The more staff themselves are actively engaged
in shaping the service, the easier the change and the better the culture. There was another example of housing
association staff that were working with tenants , who could instantly ‘say yes’ to reasonable
requests.
There was a plea for senior leaders to move away from command and control style of leadership, dismantle hierarchies and focus less on
systems and performance management. Why not ask staff to draw up their own
job description? They will focus on their strengths, and the
work that really matters.
A central theme to the day was around taking risks, demonstrating autonomy and not waiting for permission. This can be done by lighting small fires:
testing out ideas, risk taking , not waiting for permission -and
ultimately the sense of autonomy will grow.
This is very much part of an
asset-based approach and related not only to staff but also the wider
community.
There was a great deal of interest in the Emporium of Dangerous Ideas, which was viewed as a model for
risk taking, collaboration and generating innovative thinking. Of particular interest is the proposed work-place swap across public and
private sectors to generate collaboration and develop ideas, as well as gaining a fresh view of what makes a creative
workplace?
Key speakers/listeners included Roseanne Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary
for fair Work, Skills and training; Sir
Peter Housden, permanent Secretary, Scottish Government, Bernadette Malone, Chief Execuative,
Perth and Kinross Council, Professor
Irene McAra-McWilliam, Head of the School
of Design and Director of the Institute of design and Innovation, Glasgow
School of Art; Professor Patricia
Findlay, Professor of Work and Employment relations, University of
Strathclyde; Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive,
Scottish Social Services Council, Doreen
Grove, The Scottish Approach, Scottish Government, Steve Allen, Scottish Government (on secondment from Police
Scotland where he was Deputy Chief
Constable and responsible for the safety
and security of the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup 2014).