Linda Pollock: Finding the Confidence to Run Towards the Challenge

For Linda, a career spanning almost 20 years in the Scottish Government has taken her through justice, health and some of the most demanding periods of public service in recent years.

Linda’s route into senior leadership was not mapped out from the beginning, after joining the Civil Service on its graduate programme, Linda moved through a range of roles before finding her way into justice and, eventually, the Scottish Prison Service. Along the way, she was encouraged by people who recognised her potential, supported her through major career decisions and gave her the confidence to take on new challenges.

“I spent almost 20 years in core Scottish Government moving around various posts and was really fortunate for the support I had, for people who helped me with my career, with championing of me, with giving me opportunities and, I think really important, allowing me to do that as a young female.”

A Career Shaped by Opportunity

Linda initially joined the Civil Service without any intention of building a long-term career there. Having studied business and languages, she had imagined working abroad and thought she might stay in the Civil Service for only a couple of years. However, Linda found a career that gave her the opportunity to work across different areas, including youth work, finance and justice.

It was her experience working alongside the Justice portfolio that changed her direction. As Private Secretary to the Justice Cabinet Secretary, Linda gained a much closer view of the justice system and began visiting prisons across Scotland.

“And then as people who work in prisons do, fell in love with what prisons do, which is offer people hope.”

Linda initially considered moving into the Prison Service, but the practical realities of the role, including shift work and moving around the country did not fit with her personal life at the time. Instead, she stayed in Scottish Government, continued to progress and eventually returned to justice, where she spent the next decade.

Building Confidence

Linda’s career progression was often supported by people around her.

After her first maternity leave, a senior colleague encouraged her to apply for promotion into the Senior Civil Service, however, Linda was unsure whether she was ready, particularly as a mother of a young child.

Linda’s manager’s encouragement helped her take the step and that experience reinforced something she had already seen throughout her career: the difference that other people can make when they are willing to champion you.

At another point, conscious that she did not have a legal background while working alongside lawyers, Linda undertook a paralegal qualification to strengthen her understanding of the work.

“It probably didn’t matter to anybody else. And it didn’t make me any smarter, but it gave me confidence.”

That confidence became important as her responsibilities continued to grow.

The Space to Think Differently

Linda joined the Executive Women in Leadership (EWIL) programme in 2018 while on her second period of maternity leave. Having found her first maternity leave difficult because she had lost contact with work, Linda wanted something that would keep her engaged professionally without taking her away from her family.

EWIL gave her that space.

“What the course gave me was contact, kept my brain moving in a way, but also wasn’t too taxing. So, I was able to turn up in whatever state I was in, listen to the speakers, be inspired by them, have the connections.”

The programme also gave Linda the opportunity to step outside the environment she was used to and consider different perspectives on leadership.

“It does make you think a bit differently and it just kind of opened my mind to lots of different things.”

That was particularly valuable at a point when Linda was thinking about her own career and what came next.

Running Towards the Challenge

Linda’s career since then has brought some significant challenges.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she worked on the shielding list for Scotland and later took on responsibility for cancer recovery. Linda describes that period as the most challenging part of her professional life; however, it was also a period of significant progression. During the pandemic, Linda was promoted into a director role, taking responsibility for the civil service side of the work.

After leaving in 2023, having recognised that it was not the right environment for her long term, Linda moved into the Scottish Prison Service as Deputy Chief Executive. The move brought her career back to the area that had first captured her interest years earlier.

Her approach to difficult situations has been influenced by one of the speakers she heard through EWIL:

“I remember him saying, run towards the fires. And I suppose that’s part of the things I’ve taken in my career, is don’t run away from difficult things. Go towards it.”

It is an approach that has stayed with her as her responsibilities have grown.

The Value of a Network

For Linda, one of the most important aspects of EWIL has been the network beyond her own organisation.

She values having people around her who understand the pressures of senior leadership but are removed from the day-to-day environment in which she works.

“One of the things that I find most helpful and have through all my career… is having that network of other people who are not in your world, but are connected to you, that you can just share with and have the support of.”

The network has also provided practical value. When Linda was working on support for women with caring responsibilities, she was able to draw on approaches being used by other organisations and bring those ideas back into her own work. However, the support was not only professional.

“There was a learning and a professional capacity of what can I take from others? But there was a real, importantly, emotional support there.”

After returning to Scottish Government, Linda became senior champion for the Women’s Development Network, whose motto was “lift as you climb.”

That idea has stayed with her as she has progressed, the importance of using your own experience to support other women coming through behind you.

Looking Ahead

Looking back on the advice she received through EWIL, Linda would give her younger self a simple message:

“To lean in and go for it and do it, to not doubt too much, but to run towards the challenge and, lean into those around as well, take their support and just to go for it.”

That approach has shaped a career that Linda never originally planned, taking her from the graduate Civil Service programme to senior leadership across justice, health and the Prison Service.

For Linda, the support of others has been an important part of that journey. Her experience of EWIL reinforced the value of having people around you who will challenge, encourage and support you and of doing the same for others as you progress.

Executive Women in Leadership Alumni Spotlight Series

This article forms part of our Executive Women in Leadership Alumni Spotlight Series, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the EWLP programme in September 2026, and has been developed collaboratively with the support of Judy Wagner, Director of FWB Ltd and Prof Susan Murphy of The University of Edinburgh Business School, (who co-founded the EWLP), the EWIL Advisory Board, programme contributors, and interview participants.

The EWLP has since evolved into the Executive Leadership Programme (ELP), delivered in partnership with the University of Edinburgh Business School and open to leaders of all genders across the private, public and third sectors.

For more information about joining the 2026 cohort, please contact elp@fwbltd.com.