Top Talent, where do I begin….? I was relatively new to leadership roles within my workplace and felt I could do with improving my leadership skills.
By Gavin Haire, Digital and Shared Services Manager at East Dunbartonshire Council
I had attended internal training courses, which were a good foundation, but I felt that I needed a course which was more in depth. I had heard of the programme through colleagues who were graduates of previous Top Talent courses and I’d also taken the opportunity to research the course from the Socitm website and spoke with others further about the course and what it would deliver for me as a leader. After gathering the more information, I decided to apply for the course. The course was terrifically set out all the way from receiving the invites for applicants to apply, to the graduation dinner!
The application process allowed me to self-reflect on my own skills and build a picture of where I needed to improve. During the workshops and the separate coaching that is received, I was able to identify key areas where I felt I needed to improve my skills, self-belief and confidence. This was facilitated by reviewing our personal values and beliefs, through the discussions and the role-playing exercises.
After the programme
Having attended the programme, it allowed me to step forward to present feedback about our experiences at the Soctim Scotland conference; something completely outside of my comfort zone! In doing this, it has allowed me to begin to challenge myself and improve on my leadership skills. Skills I had, but never utilised fully. This is no longer the case!
I believe the benefits of attending this course has allowed me to improve my own skill set but also enabled me to grow. At the time of the course I was the Team Lead for ICT Support. Since then, I have developed my leadership skills to focus on not only managing the ICT Department, but also other areas within the Council. I firmly believe that without participating in this programme I would not have been able to gain the promotion to my current post as Digital & Shared Services Manager – responsible for ICT, Internal Shared Services and the Revenues & Benefits Teams.
It was a great experience and one that I would recommend to anyone wishing to enhance their leadership skills within government and to grab with both hands!
Read more about the Top Talent programme. Places are subject to availability and membership level. Check with our Leadership Academy Manager for all the information you need.