Glen Shuraig Consulting was five years old in September 2024. I tell everyone that one of the best things about my time running a consultancy has been all the learning, so I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what my main lessons have been. Here are three that have been on my mind a lot.
- My skills and experience are valuable. When you set up on your own, you no longer have the status that goes with a senior role in the hierarchy of a known organisation. Having to turn up to meetings with only myself to offer was a bit scary at first, but when you realise that people value the help you give them, it changes your perspective. Repeat business from clients is a big vote of confidence.
- Deep understanding and principles matter more than experience. While it has been great to draw on experience in the UK and Scottish public sector, I have been privileged to work on projects in other countries with very different legal systems and governmental structures. It has been very important to be able to stand back from ‘how we would do it in Scotland’ to think through how to achieve the outcome in another jurisdiction. Being clear on principles helps a lot with this.
- Government can look impenetrable from the outside. Even with more than a quarter of a century of the internal perspective, this remains true. I’ve reflected in a previous blog post about the experience of being on the other side of public procurement. I think that has been very helpful on the overseas work about public procurement reform, because I am not talking about the importance of making it manageable for SMEs from a theoretical point of view!
These are just three points that strike me immediately, but there are more I can share later. If you have any questions or any thoughts about the experience of working outside government as a former public servant, please do leave a comment.
As a final thought, one of the most rewarding things has been sharing all of the learning with clients. Working with public bodies in Scotland has been a great joy, and I’ve continued to broaden and deepen my understanding of public body governance over the past five years. I’m privileged now to have made contacts with others who have particularly relevant experience that complements mine, so we now have a Glen Shuraig team who can offer bespoke training and support to public bodies and the sponsors or others in Government who work with them – details also available on the website.
Best wishes for 2025 to you all!
Great insights, as always, Elly. I think the experience of being on the outside of Government is one that everyone working inside Government should have to experience too. And not just superficially for an hour here or a day there.
There are a range of things that differ enormously: familiarity with in-house jargon; perceptions of how solid and reliable timelines and deadlines are; and a fundramental set of issues around openness, transparency and above all accountability. Plenty of food for thought for those of us who have worked on both sides of the great divide!
I agree, Heather. I was aware when working in Government that it could feel at times like working in a goldfish bowl, going round in circles and getting a distorted view of the outside world. I found that experience in public bodies was helpful when going back into ‘the core’, but working outside government altogether is even more valuable for getting things in perspective.