Workforce Scotland

About Us Ingage Scottish Leaders Forum

Ingage

Scottish Leaders Forum

Fire Starter Festival Fire Starter Festival – Events

Fire Starter Festival – Events

Workstreams Building OD Capacity and Capability Dialogue Community of Practice Enabling Collaborative Leadership – Pioneer Programme Leadership Exchanges Scottish Coaching Collaborative Join the Coaching Register Skilled Workers, Skilled Citizens U.Lab

Building OD Capacity and Capability

Dialogue Community of Practice

Enabling Collaborative Leadership – Pioneer Programme

Leadership Exchanges

Scottish Coaching Collaborative Join the Coaching Register

Join the Coaching Register

Skilled Workers, Skilled Citizens

U.Lab

Events

News

Resources

So on March 2nd, in Edinburgh, we will be hosting a big, lively conversation. This will be a place where

If you’d like to come along as a participant , click here to express interest in attending.

If you can get actively involved in the design group for this event, click on the link and tick the relevant box – noting that our next design meetings are in Edinburgh (venue to be confirmed) on:

I’m sure every day, is a day of danger for someone in Government but these particular days were created to stimulate and identify ideas that could challenge our thinking and orthodoxies of working in a large organisation, such as the Scottish Government. We asked “What is your dangerous idea for the Government as an organisation that we work in?”

The notion of Dangerous Ideas came to the fore when Steven Pinker posed this question to the members of the EDGE foundation.

“The history of science is replete with discoveries that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally dangerous in their time; the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious. What is your dangerous idea? An idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be false, but because it might be true?”

So what have we found out from our days of danger? Many themes have emerged including:

the process by which staff are recruited, promoted and developed;

how we organise, manage and respond to work outcomes and directives;

the values and behaviours we feel are important;

where and how we work and the systems that are meant to support this

Perhaps one of the most significant things to transpire is our readiness to take risks and whether or not we feel supported in taking forward actions. How do we test out the ideas? Do we wait for (or need) permission?

The benefit of days of danger and inviting dangerous ideas, is the sense that they take you out of the norm, challenge orthodoxy and we start to consider what a possible future could look like. This aligns with the Government focus on SG2020 – Keep, Leave and Vision exercises, giving an opportunity for dialogue around the dangerous ideas of the past that have now become orthodoxy and that we now think may not serve as well. Was the introduction of flex-time a dangerous idea at one time?

Engaging in dialogue about ideas, on its own isn’t enough. We need to consider what does this idea really look like in reality and how might we test it out? How can we design and create different ways of being in collaboration with others. Who are already lighting small fires of change, testing out different ways of working together? This isn’t just a question for Scottish Government, but one for all those delivering public services. Where are the fire starters and what fires are they lighting?

These questions have particularly arisen since so many in Scotland have engaged with MIT’s Theory U MOOC and becoming linked with change makers from across the world. The process of the U has encouraged us all to be more fully aware of what we (on an individual, organisation and societal level) want to let go off; what energy is being generated in in our connections and systems and what new ideas are emerging that we could prototype. The energy generated from over 30 hubs in Scotland feels like it could lead to some creativity around change making for all those involved in the policy and practice of public services.

However prototyping ideas into action isn’t easy, particularly if we want to continue with ideas around self-organisation and collaborative working. How do we continue to work towards better outcomes for all that ensures we are use the creativity of all those who design, deliver and use services? How do we maintain the initial enthusiasm, using those sparks to ignite ideas that could make a difference?

The Fire Starter Festival aims to provide opportunities for all those involved in trying put ideas into action. 2016 is the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, and we want to focus on the innovation, creativity we see in how communities and those involved in public service design let go of ways that no longer serve us well, and try out new collaborative ways of being, testing out ideas on a small, medium and grand scale.

Have you got ideas you want to share, or need some expertise to take forward? Would you be willing to support an idea into action? If you are currently igniting an idea and hoping that it will spread like wild fire please get in contact and share what you are doing. The Fire Starter Festival starts the week beginning 25th January but hopefully the flame will keep burning throughout 2016.

If you would like to be part of the self-organising team of fire starters, or want to know more about Days of Danger, please contact Karen Lawson: Karen.lawson@workforcescotland.com , @karenlawson3, 07966887255

A major element of the Enabling Collaborative Leadership Pioneer Programme is sharing the learning from the Pioneer Sites through a Peer Learning Network which is programmed to meet three times during this year of learning.

The first Peer Learning Network meeting happened in June 2015. Our focus was hearing stories from people who helped develop the initiative. Those who came also generated lots of questions, which we grouped into themes which began to show the hot issues that many of us are eager to delve into together as we learn about ‘what works’ in collaborative leadership.

On 30th November, you are warmly invited to come along to our next Peer Learning Network, from 1.00pm – 4.30pm, at Victoria Quay, Edinburgh.

Our intention is to build on the buzz, and themes of our first gathering, in ways that welcome newcomers, share recent news and thinking. This will hopefully help us all to then delve into some of those hot or tricky issues by learning directly from the experience of people working in pioneer sites. As before, our focus will be on stories – sharing our own, hearing others, and practising story-telling as a practice of action inquiry. Expect a content and networking-rich event – sign up soon to secure your place. We will be hearing from Pioneer Sites, like the Musselburgh Total Place Project on how Enabling Collaborative Leadership has helped them so far.

The Musselburgh Total Place Project have been actively inquiring into families experiences of receiving public services. Using a variety of methods they have been considering two key questions:

– What is like to “me” in this family? What does it offer me? – What is like to be a practitioner working with this family?

At our Enabling Collaborative Leadership Peer Learning Event on 30th November we will be hearing from members of the Board, and the Project team and the facilitators about what it’s like to be part of the Pioneer Programme and what difference this has made. By working collaboratively what ideas have emerged and what might they do differently?

This is a fantastic opportunity to hear about their learning journey and engage in conversations with peers about pioneering work in working collaboratively.

To register for the Peer Learning Network please click the button below.

U.Lab Scotland

My take on the ‘U Lab’

For me, the ‘U Lab’ (sign up at : https://www.edx.org/course/u-lab-transforming-business-society-self-mitx-15-671x ) is about offering people ways to lead ‘from an emerging future’ through times of transformation and disruption, bringing to this task an ‘open mind, open heart, open will’. It’s been put together by a group from MIT in America (the same group that well known names in the world of systems change – like Peter Senge – belong to).

In a way it U Lab is a crystallization of decades of learning from social and business change movements, and it’s founded on a stark critique of our current economic, social and political thinking that Scharmer calls ‘organised irresponsibility’.

At heart, U Lab is an attempt to support and catalyse an emerging community of change makers to step up our impact by paying more attention to how we learn and create new solutions for ourselves, and…

View original post 2,067 more words

#BringYourselfToWork

What does it mean to Bring Yourself to Work (BYTW)? Surely, that’s something we all do every working day?

Or is it? We may bring our bodies and our minds to work, but many of us find it difficult to truly be ourselves in the workplace. Working conditions and workplace cultures vary hugely but in the majority of work settings there are rules, implicit and explicit, that we often find ourselves conforming to that can make it difficult to be our best selves, the people we aspire to be.

When thinking about whether I bring myself to work every day, I often reflect on the question “Would my friends and family fully recognise me at work and vice versa?” Some people might think “Does it really matter? I just want to turn up do my shift and go home. Work becomes more and more pressurised and now you want me to invest even more of myself in it? Aye that’ll be right!”

The concept of BYTW is not about putting more pressure on the individual to make up for organisational failings. It’s about recognising that work is part of life for those of us fortunate enough to have a job. To make workplaces healthier and jobs more fulfilling and less stressful, we all need to be part of a culture change within workplaces and our wider society.

At work, we can tend to put on our metaphorical armour to protect ourselves. We may think that standing out, or being different, might hurt our chances of being accepted or of progressing our career. But it is important to be yourself at work for many reasons. Here are some to consider:

You’ll be happier and enjoy your work life more. This is the core reason behind BYTW. It might be difficult at first but by thinking more deeply about your own feelings and actions, the process of going to work can become less of a chore and more of a pleasure.

Because you are entitled to feel like a human, rather than a cog in a machine

By being yourself you can make better connections, more quickly. As humans, we normally have a pretty good BS detector and can tell when people aren’t being genuine around us. This can make it difficult to build rapport as we don’t feel comfortable around people who don’t seem to be authentic.

You will use a lot less energy being yourself than trying to be something you’re not.

It can help you accept the fact that you, and others, are fallible and that’s ok.

It helps you to live and work by your values rather than someone else’s and relieves the mental distress that can be caused when not. If you find that your work and your values are at odds then the best idea is to proactively address this situation, assess your options and do what it takes to find a work role that allows you to be yourself.

In this complicated and complex world, we need everybody’s unique skills. By not bringing yourself to work, you’re doing yourself and others a disservice.

So how do you do it? If you’ve worked in a particular way, it can be a bit confusing – even daunting – to try to act in a way that feels more you. It’s difficult to say how to go about it because only you are you and it will mean different things to each of us. You might not even know what that looks or feels like. So try experimenting. To get you started, you might want to think of ways you can be a little bit more:

Brave – do something you’ve wanted to but haven’t felt confident enough to do

Vulnerable – share something about yourself; if you are afraid of being judged or looking daft then make sure you are not judging others if they share something of themselves with you.

Sensitive – act in a way you would want to be treated, but be aware that we are all different and what you might think is an okay way to act and speak might upset someone else.

Mindful – of others and yourself. Being mindful of others and ourselves is at the heart of BYTW. We all have to work at it but it can make a huge difference to our lives and the lives of those around us.

Caring – ask how a colleague is doing, especially when you are both mega-busy. Random Acts of Kindness make you feel good about life and others feel good about you and themselves.

Daring – say what you are really feeling or thinking… well obviously within reason! It always helps to be diplomatic but it is important not to just go with the flow. By being willing to speak your mind you empower others to do the same.

Assertive – ask for what you need, and look for ways you can make a positive difference in your life at work and at home.

While it is important that we bring ourselves to work everyday, we want to have a special BringYourselfToWork day on Monday 7 Sept 2015 for a few reasons:

It can make it easier to try something new when lots of others are also doing it at the same time

Mondays can be especially hard at work for lots of people, and

U.Lab , a free, eight-week online experiential learning programme starts that week and we are encouraging as many people in Scotland (and the rest of the world!) to take part who wish to. U.Lab fits very much with the ethos of BYTW.

But don’t wait until 7 Sept! Try it today and share with us ways you’ve brought yourself to work by commenting below, sending us pictures or tweeting at #bringyourselftowork . Share yourself, and some inspiration, with us.

For more information on Bring Yourself to Work Week, contact Keira Oliver – Keira.Oliver@workforcescotland.com

Read all about Participation Week by clicking on the image below.

Click the image below to view our April 2015 Newsletter!

Skilled Workers, Skilled Citizens: invitation to shape a big, lively conversation on March 2nd 2016 8 December 2015

Dangerous Ideas and Starting fires… 1 December 2015

Pioneer Peer Learning Network – 30 November 2015 12 November 2015

Leadership Exchange: A Blind Date-style adventure for public services – Emily Martin 3 November 2015

Play: a serious role in organisational transformation? 2 October 2015

Knowledge Hub

Storify

Twitter

Vimeo

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 948 other followers