The Public Sector Leadership Programme is proud to announce its first graduate at Master of Science level - the City of Edinburgh Council's Lynne Sinclair.
Lynne, Executive Manager to the Director of Children and Families, completed her MSc in 2011 and revealed the programme had a massive impact on her work from the first day.
She said: "I was learning from that point and it continued throughout the programme. I grew and developed as I worked my way through.
"It is good to know that you are up-to-date and thinking at the current edge. It makes me feel I am doing my job in the best way I can. It's great to have a Master's so relevant to my work."
Lynne praised the programme for its relevance to the public sector and its flexibility. "It provided such a depth of insight and perspective at both a national and local level. The balance of topics was absolutely right," she said.
Paul McGhee, the Council's Development Manager, supported Lynne throughout her studies and praised her as a role model to others for her enthusiasm and commitment to learning.
The Public Sector Leadership Programme is designed to operate as a partnership between the Improvement Service, Edinburgh Napier University and participating public sector bodies.
It focuses on the development of strategic level thinking and analysis to equip the next generation of senior managers to face the challenges ahead.
At the same time, the programme is intensely practical, work-based and encourages the implementation of real change in the workplace. It aims to assist public sector organizations to develop skilled, practical leaders rather than management theorists.
The programme was piloted by the City of Edinburgh Council, which has just started a third cohort of students.
Paul said: "As a council, we needed a consistent development opportunity for senior and middle managers. We needed a model which would combine the development of soft skills and leadership capacity with a focused understanding of the big picture. It's about fully understanding your sector.
"The different streams of the programme come together to create the type of leader the Council needs. The added benefits were networking opportunities, cross-council working and engaging with colleagues."
Several more City of Edinburgh students are close to achieving Master of Science degrees. The programme is now also operating within Dundee City Council, whose first cohort has just completed the Certificate and are about to commence the Diploma.
An interesting recent development is the adoption of the programme by the Moray Community Planning Partnership, which involves managers from the Moray Council, the NHS, the police and the voluntary sector working together.
Lynne is now mentoring the latest intake of Public Sector Leadership Programme candidates, offering support and guidance as they work through the programme.
