Lee’s story

Lee, Head of Sold Services to Schools and Housing Support Fund Lead, took part in a three-day Grit programme for staff at Nottingham City Council.

When I first signed up for the programme, I’ll be honest—I felt a bit apprehensive. It wasn’t the kind of development I’d ever done before. But I threw myself into it, nerves and all, just to see what would happen. I ended up really enjoying the three days.

The experience felt completely different from a standard management development programme—surprisingly refreshing, even liberating. We got right into the foundations of what we’re really here to do. The trainers created a space where people felt genuinely comfortable and willing to explore their own challenges and perspectives in a supportive environment. Everyone was given the opportunity to embrace the freedom, to express themselves within the sessions. There was a lot of thoughtful exploration, all well framed, and I found myself engaging with new paradigms and new ways of perceiving things. It was incredibly thought-provoking and useful.

I know that as officers we can sometimes get stuck. The programme helped me reset—shake up what I’m doing and re-affirm why. In some ways it was a real wake up call. And I’ve seen how important it is to use this approach with my teams as well.

Grit has been a catalyst and helped me build on previous work. I did some work with one of my teams using a more explorative mindset: where is the customer now? It pushed us to consider how a school isn’t just one customer. Children receive the service directly, but the Business Manager has to consider value for money, the Head Teacher needs assurances to take to the governors, parents want to know that their children have been well-fed. Understanding all these viewpoints is essential when deciding whether our service is meeting its objectives. Being able to explore these perspectives made a huge difference.

I used this approach in creating a reflective learning environment for wider teams, including briefings sessions about Ofsted and what the experience is like in reality. Many colleagues in service support roles don’t have direct experience of an inspection, so giving them context and space to talk about it lifted awareness and helped them understand the pressures for other colleagues in Children’s Services. It meant they could better prioritise requests for help and have more open, informed conversations.

Even in trickier areas—like supporting colleagues with our internal finance systems, reporting, forecasting, and profiling—the mindset carried through. At the heart of all this is a simple drive: service improvement built on treating people as human beings and sharing knowledge to make improvements.

The biggest difference Grit has made for me is raising my awareness that there are alternative ways of learning beyond the traditional, structured approaches we often default to. The programme reminded me how valuable it is to give yourself the freedom and, more importantly, the permission to think, to slow down, to explore, to reflect, and to take time to process. It’s something I want to keep doing—refreshing, energising, and genuinely impactful.