Leadership and networking inside and out

Thursday, October 30 sees a special event held by Public Service Collaborative Learning and the North East Learning Collaborative held at Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom.

The Leadership Exchange programme aims to provide a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing across public sector organisations by pairing members of senior management from local authorities, Scottish Government, the NHS, further and higher education and more together.

Leaders can gain an insight in the challenges faced by their peers as well as gaining a fresh perspective on their own role and leadership style by learning about another organisations cultures, constraints and opportunities.

It’s essential that we remain open to learning opportunities and the chance to work more closely with our peers in the north-east. Programmes such as this help strengthen the links between the council and our other public sector peers and encourage the development of our staff, something which remains integral to our mission to be the best council.

During the autumnal period of dismal and dreich weather Aberdeenshire’s coastal towns and villages often face harsh challenges. I recently visited Stonehaven with Kincardine and Mearns Area Manager William Munro during the clear-up after the recent storms and spoke to a number of council staff. It brought home that we should never take the sea for granted and my thoughts are with all of Aberdeenshire’s residents who are affected by the adverse weather.

On a lighter note, I was delighted to see the formation of the employee led LGBT Network Group. Aberdeenshire Council strives to create a workplace that values equality with a zero tolerance stance to harassment and abuse and it is incredibly gratifying to see that we have created a workplace culture through the various programmes, initiatives and training led by the Equalities team, where such a group can be formed.

The group will hold its next drop-in meeting, ‘LGBTea and Cake’ on Wednesday, October 29, between 5.30pm and 7.00pm in the Formartine Room of the Woodhill House Annexe.