Collective Leadership for Scotland

What does it take to lead in times like these?

What is Collective Leadership for Scotland?

Public Services are Reforming.

Collective Leadership Scotland is a collaborative initiative that supports and enables the public service workforce to work together to deliver the services that matter to the people of Scotland.

Read More “What is Collective Leadership for Scotland?”

What does it take to lead in times like these?

Areas of Work

Working and leading in times like these requires us to find new approaches to harness the skills and capacity from across our system to address the many complex issues we face.
Collective Leadership for Scotland is a collaborative network which draws colleagues from across our public services to help collaborate on complex, systemic issues in service of wider public service transformation.

The Collective Leadership for Scotland team and partners currently focuses on the following areas of work:

Facilitation Development

The Collective Leadership Programme has eight live participant sites across Scotland, with over 25 in active discussion.

With the programme continuing to grow, we look to recruit and support experienced facilitators on a bi-annual basis to work with the teams on site to help them solve the complex issues they’re trying to address.

Who we are looking for

We recognise the importance of skilled facilitation in enabling leaders to become aware of diverse perspectives. This programme will be best suited to those who have some experience of working with complexity and are open to reflecting on their own practice and a willingness to share learning.

The offer

A 4 day residential programme from 17th to 20th November 2020 at Murrayshall near Perth.

The facilitation programme will not be focussed on a technical programme of tools and techniques.  It will be about the use of self within the group experience and how to create the conditions for groups to learn and work better together. On-going peer support and training, to be co-designed with the facilitators themselves.

After running our successful residential programme for two consecutive years, we are considering a new resourcing method and organisations may be asked to make a contribution this time round. We will keep this page updated, along with notifying applicants, as we progress.

The ask

You will be willing and able (with any necessary permissions) to facilitate at least one partnership group.  Allocation of work will be done in conjunction with a member of the team after a supportive discussion with you about your readiness.

Facilitation is focused upon the real, complex work that teams are doing and so there will not be one model that works for all teams.  As a guide, however, participation as a facilitator in the Collective Leadership Programme may involve working for around 6 to 12 months with a team on the complex issue they are trying to address.  This could be a pattern of monthly meetings with the partnership team, where the real work is done, but where some time is also set aside to focus on what is being learned about Collective Leadership.

Application

To apply, please download and complete the Leader and Facilitator Programme Application form and send it to Karen Lawson at Karen.Lawson@gov.scot by 30th September 2020.

Those who’s applications have been successful will then be invited to the interview stage of the process.

Supportive Practices

Supportive Practices

Recognising the very difficult circumstances that many colleagues are working in at present, a really important aspect of this offer is to share a range of approaches and practices that could be tried out by colleagues, either individually, in pairs or small groups. These might create a route for reflection, support and connection or might simply create an opportunity to try something new and have a different experience.

In suggesting these, we are drawing upon practices which have been important in our Collective Leadership work and where we have found that the small amount of time that is invested can lead to quite significant effects. We are also hopeful that creating brief opportunities for colleagues to have different kinds of conversations and experiences at this time may help in making sense and meaning from the things going on around us and offer some alternative routes to achieve the kinds of connections that we may feel are currently lacking.

We will make a range of resources available over the course of our “One Thing at a Time” themed weeks to provide colleagues with simple guidance and information on how to get involved. The practices will include:

Practices

Dialogue Walks

Self-organised

A structured conversation where two individuals take the time for a walk (during their daily exercise, around the house or sitting in a quiet spot) where they commit to the intention to
share and listen deeply for a longer-than-usual amount of time.

What is a Dialogue Walk and how to do it online:

For everyone who is new to Dialogue Walks (and how to do them online), we have written a blog post which gives suggestions on how you can do your Dialogue Walk.

To Blog Post

Get our Dialogue Walk Card:

Your companion for when you go on your walk.
Download it for free to your phone or print it out! 

To Resource

Fire Starter Event 'Walking our Landscapes'

Throughout the week of the Fire Starter Festival, participants will be offered a range of embodied, artistic and sensory walking practices to experiment with, as well as the opportunity to be linked with a walking partner – potentially someone you don’t know.

Sign up

Creative Exercises and Challenges

Self-organised

In lockdown, days can feel a lot more repetitive. Combined with spending a lot more time in front of screens, you may be feeling a lack of motivation or general unease. Taking a few minutes to do something different and creative can help. Using creative approaches can also help us to uncover different possibilities.

Pack of Creative Exercises & Challenges:

Some handy information cards with creative practice ideas that you can try with your team, or by yourself.

To Resource

Visual Coaching

Self-organised

Take 10! Do you need a breathing space, opportunity to assess where you are at and identify what small step you can take to change your situation? Tap into your creative self and try these practices. It only takes 10 minutes!

10-minute Visual Coaching by Linda Hunter

Watch our colleague Linda Hunter (@LidnaStitt) explore some simple methods for coaching using videos.

Go to Youtube

10-minute Visual (Self) Coaching by Linda Hunter

If you want to learn more about visual coaching methods to work through any tensions, watch this brief 10 minute video by our colleague Linda Hunter (@LidnaStitt).

Go to Youtube

Empathic Listening

Facilitated

There are many definitions of empathy and ideas about what it is. Rather than more discussion this webinar is focused on the experience of empathy. Being deeply heard is a powerful experience that can stay with us. In this space of acceptance we find our own inner resources, solutions and move forward.

Slidepack for Empathy: The Magic of Deep Listening

Download the slidepack for Shona Cameron’s online session, held in May, here.

Download Slidepack

Guided Journaling

Facilitated

You are taken through a series of questions, one at a time, and given a short amount of time to write down whatever comes up for you. Can provide insight into what is going on for you and what is important to focus on at a given time.

Guided Journaling Online Sessions:

We offer free guided journaling sessions online.
Get your pen and notebook ready, and sign up to your session!

Sign up to live Sessions here

Mindfulness Session

Self-organised

Developing a stable or settled mind takes time and practice. A focussed, quiet mind will enable us to see more clearly, be aware of biases and judgments and enable us to make wise
decisions. These short sessions will guide you through a mindfulness practice.

Cultivating a Stable Mind:

As part of our programme ‘One Thing at a Time’, we hosted two weeks under the theme of ‘Stable Mind’, including guided audio practices.

Cultivating a Stable Mind

Case Clinics

Facilitated

A tightly structured technique similar to an action learning set, where a participant brings a challenge they are facing and are coached by their colleagues to find a way forward.

What are Case Clinics:

The Presencing Institute offers some resources on Case Clinics, including videos and a downloadable pdf-toolkit. The link will lead you to their online resources.  

Learn more

Come to our Case Clinics:

If you are interested in this offer, please do get in touch with us via the link to the right.

Contact us

Base Camp Groups

Self-organised

A group that agrees to meet regularly to reflect on the day and what they are learning. Suggested light structures for the group to follow are available.

What are Base Camp Groups?

Are you interested in joining a Base Camp Group?
If so, please do let us know via the link to the right.

Contact us

Co-Inquiry Groups

Facilitated

As we introduce our Themed weeks the Collective Leadership for Scotland team members have been formulating some inquiry questions for ourselves as we move through this pandemic season. Part of the reason for developing the questions is that we wanted to bring to the fore the role of action inquiry in our work and take some time to engage in the practice of learning in real time for ourselves and as a team in this unique set of circumstances.

Join our Co-Inquiry Group:

If you would be interested in taking part in this co-inquiry, please let Dot know. (Dorothy.mclaughlin@gov.scot)

Get in touch with Dot

One Thing At A Time

One Thing At A Time

Introduction

During this unprecedented global situation, the Collective Leadership for Scotland team has been reflecting on what its response and offer should be. Our first instinct was to rush to “do” something, but we’ve taken the opportunity to reflect, read, speak to partners and listen to thought leaders in the system and have found an appetite for some focussed learning and practice around some key themes. We fully recognise the fear, anxiety and overwhelm of this time and thought it would be useful for us to provide some space and time to slow down, work at depth and move away from the frenetic pace all around us. As a team, we want our response to be helpful, we want to stay present and available and to create “islands of sanity”, which are defined by Meg Wheatley as creating the safe conditions for people to do meaningful work.

More on the Development of this Programme

OUR NEW PROGRAMME: COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP FOR RENEWAL

We are delighted to announce that our new programme will run 14 September – 6 November 2020. Have a look at what events are coming up!

To Our New Programme 'Collective Leadership for Renewal'

Overview of Themes

The Three Horizons

This work has been produced in collaboration with Graham Leicester from the International Futures Forum.

To '3 Horizons' Resources

Navigating with Action Inquiry

Our ‘Action Inquiry’ theme has been created in collaboration with Dr Cathy Sharp.

To 'Action Inquiry' Resources

Cultivating a Stable Mind

These mindfulness materials and resources have been kindly generated by many interested in mindfulness and working in different roles across public services.

To 'Stable Mind' Resources

Leading in Unknowing

A series of online learning opportunities with Martin Kalungu-Banda, creating short but in-depth opportunities to learn and reflect together on our leadership at times of unknowing.

To 'Leading in Unknowing' Resources

Supportive Practices

Recognising the very difficult circumstances that many colleagues are working in at present, a really important aspect of this offer is to share a range of approaches and practices that could be tried out by colleagues, either individually, in pairs or small groups. These might create a route for reflection, support and connection or might simply create an opportunity to try something new and have a different experience.

We have made a range of resources available to provide colleagues with simple guidance and information on how to get involved. Have a look at them now!

To our Supportive Practices

Collective Leadership Offer

Collective Leadership Offer

Collective Leadership is offered to cross organisational groups who are grappling with a complex issue and are open to learning and doing things differently.

“Collective Leadership Scotland is, in my experience, an exemplar for how leaders need to be trained for this time.  Working as a community of like-minded and motivated leaders, learning to think systemically, focused on innovation, contribution and service—these are the essential ingredients that leaders need now.”

Meg Wheatley, October 2019

We know that we face a number of complex, wicked issues in Scotland, such as poverty, an aging population, climate change, and we know that no single organisation or agency will be able to tackle these alone. We understand that we must work collaboratively to affect change, and that this work is often complex, messy, unpredictable, and can be difficult to achieve. We know that creating the time and space to work collectively can be challenging.  The day to day work can override our best intentions, and we can get stuck in our traditional habits and ways of thinking and doing.

Collective Leadership is offered to cross organisational groups who are grappling with a complex issue and are open to learning and doing things differently. This offer includes:

  • Skilled facilitation to work with the group of leaders
  • Using action and inquiry
  • Opportunities to develop and share learning

“Transforming systems is ultimately about transforming relationships among people who shape those systems.”

Peter Senge

Collective Leadership Taster Workshops

In order to further explore the Collective Leadership offer, we will be hosting online Taster Workshop Sessions during the year, for individuals and potential participant teams to understand and experience the theory and practice of Collective Leadership, and the commitment it will require in advance of applying to be a participant team.

We currently host 2 different sessions throughout the year:

Introduction to Collective Leadership

These 2-hour workshops are for individuals and teams to understand and experience the theory and practice of our Collective Leadership offer, and to explore what supports us to work well in complexity. If you’re interested in the practice of collective leadership, and you want to learn more, this is the workshop for you.

See all dates & Sign up

Collective Leadership Practice: Where to Start

This is a practical 2-hour workshop that is aimed at supporting individuals and teams to develop the practices that support collective leadership. Experienced facilitators from the Collective Leadership for Scotland team will offer some practical guidance on how to design and facilitate meetings that support a collective leadership approach. You will gain most out of this session if you have attended the first workshop of this series ‘Introduction to Collective Leadership’.

See all dates & Sign up

Resources

Leadership and Facilitation Programme

Leadership and Facilitation Programme

Next Programme runs 15-17 February 2022 Online

“This was the most amazing course I have ever been on in my 17yrs in Public Sector.
It challenged me and took me to a depth of work that I never expected but was very open to.
I am truly honoured to have been part of such a wonderful group of people from Scotland that took part. ”

Clair Thomson, Police Scotland

The complexity of the challenges we face today across society including issues like enduring poverty and inequality and climate breakdown calls for a different response from public service leaders: a collective leadership approach to bring about transformational changes where answers emerge from collective sense-making. This type of leadership requires self-awareness, the ability to suspend judgement, work in uncertainty and to surface and work with diverse perspectives. Leaders who have in their sights on the health of the whole system not just their organisation or area of responsibility, who can build relationships through deep listening and learn through taking action and reflecting.

There is an increasing appreciation that this is challenging work and therefore requires skilled support and new ways of learning to do this well. Key to shifting to this way of working is to have skillful facilitation embedded with groups of leaders who are seeking to bring about change in real, specific, complex challenges.  There is also recognition that leaders need to develop the capacity to understand their role in whole systems and become more relational and facilitative in their leadership practice.

To meet this expanding need, Collective Leadership for Scotland has developed a collective leadership offer, drawing and strengthening connections to other systems leadership offers in public services.

New Collective Leadership for Scotland Strategy Model.
To learn more about us, have a look here.

Facilitation for Collective Leadership – Thought Piece Mini-Series
For a long time we have struggled to articulate the process of facilitation that we believe to be important when working with collective leadership groups tackling complex issues. This art of facilitation doesn’t just lie with those who have a title of ‘facilitator’ but is also key to leadership practice. Over the next few months we will be sharing experiences and thinking around facilitation in complexity, with the view that we can tentatively make the “intuitive, tacit and unconscious” ways of knowing more visible.

Read more on Facilitation for Collective Leadership

Leadership & Facilitation Programme

As part of the development of this Collective Leadership offer, we are bringing experienced facilitators and leaders together for an online programme to deepen their own leadership/facilitation practices.

Who we are looking for:

This programme will not be focussed on learning technical tools and techniques.  It will be about cultivating greater insight in the use of self within the group experience, creating  the conditions for groups to learn and take better action together.  This programme will be best suited to those who have some experience of working with complexity and are open to reflecting on their own practice and willing to share their learning.

The programme will take place online, 15-17 February 2022. The programme schedule is 9am – 5pm each day, with breaks. Participants are required to be in attendance for the whole programme.

 The programme is free of charge.  

The ask

Of Facilitators

On completion of the programme, you will be willing and able (with any necessary permissions) to facilitate at least one sustained intervention with a group of collective leaders seeking to address a real, complex cross-partnership problem. This could be a group that you have already been working with or supporting or you may be asked by the Collective Leadership for Scotland Team to support a piece of work in another partnership/area. Ongoing support will be provided throughout this period by members of the Collective Leadership for Scotland Team.

Of Leaders

For those in a leadership role the expectation would be that, following the programme, you would actively implement the learning, with a particular focus on complex issues which require a collective leadership approach. This would mean taking up an explicitly systemic and inquiring stance to your work. The opportunities for this would be discussed prior to the programme and consultancy would be provided by the Collective Leadership for Scotland Team.

Please feel free to contact collectiveleadership@gov.scot to discuss your options if you aren’t clear about which route is best for you.

Application to Programme

All candidates for the programme are required to complete the application process. Read more on the application process below.

The application deadline is midnight on Sunday, 23 January 2022. Should you have any questions please contact collectiveleadership@gov.scot. 

Apply by downloading the application form here

Collaborative Work with Margaret Wheatley

Collective Leadership for Scotland has been exploring and building capacity for Collective Leadership in Scotland for many years now. The new skill set that this leadership environment requires includes a level of personal mastery, sometimes missing from leadership development efforts.
It is this area of personal mastery which Meg Wheatey focuses on in her work.

Collective Leadership for Renewal

Collective Leadership for Renewal

Our New Programme Running 14 September to 25 November 2020

Introduction

It seems clear that the breadth and scale of impact of Covid warrants the time to stop and reflect together on what we have learned, challenging ourselves to consider the really important aspects that would feel wrong to ignore for the generations ahead.  Collective Leadership for Renewal is our offer into this space, inviting colleagues to participate in a series of conversations and practices that will create time, safe space and opportunity for deep reflection and learning with others, allowing to emerge together the most important elements of our learning from Covid that we wish to take into our wider work and lives. 

The Programme will include hosted Leadership Conversations, BaseCamp Groups, Guided Journaling, Mindfulness and Creative and Experimental Practice workshops, alongside an ongoing focus on images for Renewal. Have a look at the programme overview below to see what events are happening when. 

Read our new blog about the development of our new programme!

Read the Blog

Programme Overview

Offers Running Throughout Programme
Guided journaling, mindfulness and creative & experimental sessions are hosted throughout the programme. Have a look further down for this overview for more information on them. 

21 – 25 September
7-day festival

Creative Bravery Festival 
A festival of learning which celebrates acts of bravery and uses them to transform and rethink the way we educate.  Offered with partners and supported through Collective Leadership https://creativebraveryfestival.com/

To Creative Bravery Website

6 & 7 October 
Mini-Festival

Sparkfest 2020 
Sparkfest has been designed to provide opportunities to delve more deeply into the experiences, outcomes and workings of the Fire Starter Festival. 

Have a look at our event line-up and make sure you sign up to Sparkfest now!

To Festival Programme

7 October
1.30-3.00 pm

Collective Leadership Taster Workshop
Opportunity to find out more about the CL approach and experience some of the practices which support us in this space

This event has passed

20 October
10.00 – 11.30 am

Leadership Now for the Generations Ahead
A 90-minute hosted conversation around critical Leadership for Renewal themes.  Co-hosted with Martin Kalungu-Banda.

Conversation 1 will focus on the following question:
What has been our Covid experience and what have we noticed in our leadership response to extreme disruption? 

Watch a recording of this session here

21 October
2.00 – 4.00 pm

Creative and Experimental Workshop
Pushing the limits of creativity in a virtual environment together around the theme of Renewal

This event has passed

28 October
4.00 – 5.00 pm

Dialogue Walking Campfire
An informal event where participants will share stories of walking from the comfort of your chair or on your phone whilst walking via Zoom

This event has passed

29 October
10.00 – 11.30 am

Base Camp Groups
An invitation to inquiry around Collective Leadership for Renewal themes

Offered fortnightly as co-inquiry or less structured connection points. Opportunity for participation in a group to camp around issue and questions arising from the inputs where there is possibility of deeper connection and dialogue.

This event has passed

5 November
10.00 -11.30am

Leadership Now for the Generations Ahead
A 90-minute hosted conversation around critical Leadership for Renewal themes.  Co-hosted with Martin Kalungu-Banda.

Conversation 2 will focus on the following question:
How can we sense more deeply how our leadership needs to evolve for future generations?

Watch a Recording here

10 November
10.00 -11.30 am

Base Camp Groups
An invitation to inquiry around Collective Leadership for Renewal themes

Offered fortnightly as co-inquiry or less structured connection points. Opportunity for participation in a group to camp around issue and questions arising from the inputs where there is possibility of deeper connection and dialogue.

Sign up here

11 November
9.30 – 10.30am

Inner Work for Creative Bravery (monthly until March)
We invite you to reflect on the inner barriers that stop you being creative – in all or any domain of your life, from how we lead and work to how we live and relate, to ourselves and each other. We’ll explore with others how we can work with and/or work through these barriers. 

Sign up here

12 November 
10.00 – 11.30am

Collective Leadership Taster Workshop
Opportunity to find out more about the CL approach and experience some of the practices which support us in this space

Sign up here

17 November
10.00 – 11.30 am

Leadership Now for the Generations Ahead
A 90-minute hosted conversation around critical Leadership for Renewal themes.  Co-hosted with Martin Kalungu-Banda.

Conversation 3 will focus on the following theme:
Experimentation – developing the muscle of possibility around our collective support for the future.

Watch the recording here

24 November
10.00 -11.30 am

Base Camp Groups
An invitation to inquiry around Collective Leadership for Renewal themes

Offered fortnightly as co-inquiry or less structured connection points. Opportunity for participation in a group to camp around issue and questions arising from the inputs where there is possibility of deeper connection and dialogue.

Sign up here

Offers Running Throughout Programme

Online Guided Journaling Sessions
Weekly hosted 30 minute guided journaling sessions as a place for individual deeper reflection and connection, at 4.00 pm every Thursday

Sign up here

Online Creative and Experimental Workshops
Creative, Experimental sessions, offering an invitation to join us to push the limits of what creativity is possible in a virtual environment.

Register here

Mindfulness Sessions
Weekly hosted 20 minute mindfulness sessions with an emphasis on stopping and becoming more self- aware, offered every Monday at 4.00 pm.

Register here

Images for Renewal 
Invitation and practice on Images for Renewal – invite people to share their own images – photo, poems, magazine clippings etc., and provide contemplative space for people to share images

Learn more
To Photo Gallery

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