Excellence in leadership

• Individual nominated: Tracy Lennon
• Organisation: North Lanarkshire Council

Statement of support

Tracy is a visionary leader in tenant engagement within the housing sector. As manager of the award-winning tenant participation team at North Lanarkshire Council, since the establishment of the team in 2018, she has transformed how tenants are actively involved in landlord decision-making and community shaping.

Under Tracy’s leadership in 2023–24, tenant satisfaction soared, when 96.8 per cent of tenants expressed satisfaction with opportunities to participate in landlord decision-making, significantly higher than the Scottish average. This continues her team’s record of outstanding performance and reflects a sustained, strategic commitment to inclusive participation.

Overall tenant satisfaction with the housing service climbed to 86.6 per cent, up from 81.2 per cent, and well above the Scottish average of 80.3 per cent. Meanwhile, 95.8 per cent of tenants felt well informed about services and decisions (Tracy’s key aim) again outperforming national averages.

2023/24 was Tracy’s most impactful year yet. Under her strategic direction, nine new Tenants & Residents’ groups were established, one specifically for Ukrainian refugees, and several dormant groups were reconstituted. Participation in the annual NL in Bloom Garden Awards rose by 35 per cent, reflecting broader community connection and diversity of tenant involvement. The garden awards, historically, a five-minute slot in the Annual Tenants’ Conference, under Tracy’s stewardship have become a highlight of the community engagement calendar with a standalone celebration event, recognising the commitment, skill and dedication of North Lanarkshire tenants. 

Tracy’s team also achieved a milestone in gaining "Gold Accreditation" for the service from TPAS Scotland, a first for North Lanarkshire Council, recognising the high standard of tenant participation services delivered under her leadership.

Her leadership encapsulates all the award criteria:

• Achievement in driving positive outcomes: Tracy’s initiatives directly correlate with sustained high satisfaction, increased participation rates, and genuine tenant influence on housing services.
• Innovation: She championed digital inclusion, supported over 200 tenants to become digital champions, and implemented hybrid engagement sessions that have become standard across the service.
• Vision: Tracy steered the council’s new Tenant Participation Strategy 2025–2030, co-produced with tenants, and built on the belief that participation must be embedded in every layer of service delivery.
• Self-awareness: She mentors emerging leaders and fosters a learning culture across her team, using feedback from both staff and tenants in her approach.
• Collaboration: Tracy has built strong partnerships across departments and with key external organisations. Notably, her close working relationship with North Lanarkshire Federation of Tenants and Residents has been instrumental in strengthening tenant voice. Through co-designed conferences, joint scrutiny activities, and regular dialogue, she ensures Federation members are not only heard but directly influence decisions. This partnership is widely regarded as a model of effective tenant–landlord collaboration in Scotland, reflected in recent knowledge sharing with both South Lanarkshire and Fife Councils, who were keen to learn from the success of the partnership. 
• Ownership: Tracy takes full accountability. When a participation project or initiative doesn’t land as expected, she engages tenants in honest reflection and redesign, ensuring the service continues to evolve and improve with integrity.

Tracy leads with empathy, clarity, and purpose. Her work has elevated the standard of tenant participation, improved outcomes, and embedded a genuine culture of co-production across North Lanarkshire Council. She is respected not only for the results she delivers, but for how she brings others along with her professionally, confidently, and collaboratively.

For her impactful, forward-thinking, and inclusive leadership, Tracy Lennon is a highly deserving nominee for the Excellence in Leadership Award.

Jim Leonard, chairperson of NLF said "Tracy has been the greatest addition to TP in North Lanarkshire we could ever have hoped for. We'd been partnered with a TIS project for 15 years and were apprehensive about a change. Since 2018 we have achieved more than we thought possible. Her support is endless, always on hand for anything the Fed needs, fights ours and tenants' corner at every turn and has supported us to build the strongest partnership we've had to date with NLC. We're heading for our 20th anniversary in 2026 stronger than ever".

Outcomes and achievements

Under Tracy’s leadership, the tenant participation team has achieved significant milestones:

• Achieved TPAS Scotland Gold Accreditation, positioning the service as sector-leading across Scotland.
• Maintains a strong network of around 40 active Tenants and Residents Groups across North Lanarkshire, each delivering meaningful outcomes—from community improvements and fundraising to campaigning for CCTV and enhancing safety.
• Secured 200 devices and Wi-Fi access through Connecting Scotland, improving digital access and reducing isolation post-pandemic.
• Strengthened the partnership with the North Lanarkshire Federation (NLF), with Tracy providing consistent support to a strong committee.
• Supported NLF in running four quarterly sub-committees, engaging non-housing services across the council, including:
  • Roads and street lighting
  • Land and waste management
  • Ambition (new build, tower reprovisioning, town centre regeneration)
  • Retirement housing (est. 2025).
• Sustains a long-standing, independent scrutiny programme with Northstar Consulting & Research, delivering annual projects following “Stepping Up to Scrutiny” training for volunteers. Topics have included technology in retirement housing, complaints handling, allocations, and repairs.

Through Tracy’s collaborative approach and strong interdepartmental links, the scrutiny panel engages directly with senior officers across housing, roads, property, and finance—ensuring influence at the highest level.

• Individual nominated: Adele McSorley & Amanda Melvin
• Organisation: Blue Triangle

Statement of support

Blue Triangle would like to make a special dual nomination of their two heads of service delivery: Adele McSorley and Amanda Melvin.

Adele

Adele joined Blue Triangle as a social work student on a work placement at their Lanark service, back in 2018. She impressed everyone, especially her line manager, Lesley Munro:

• “We wanted her immediately. I was very impressed with her work ethic, her personality, her values. She was just the right fit for their service.”

Adele was hired full-time at Lanark after graduation. Within two years, she built up her knowledge rapidly and was promoted from support worker to assistant service manager (ASM). As ASM, Adele spearheaded the implementation of Better Futures, a support planning tool which is used to track the progress of supported people across multiple indicators. She was so successful in training her colleagues at Lanark that she was tasked with introducing the system across all other Blue Triangle services.

Adele’s next opportunity came when she moved to become service manager in East Lothian, running two services at once. While familiarising herself with a new area and taking on new responsibilities for supervising and training staff, Adele oversaw the transition to their new bespoke CRM software, SHARP. She co-designed the SHARP support planning tool, founded their SHARP working group, and created an extensive library of document templates and how-to videos. Adele also rationalised organisation structures and introduced new audit procedures, new rotas, and recruited and developed a new staff team.

Adele’s leadership ability was recognised in her promotion to head of service delivery (Central and East), a new role supporting the director of operations to oversee five local authority areas. 

• “She’s worked her way up. So, she’s respected by everyone.”

Amanda

Amanda has worked for Blue Triangle for over 20 years. She joined as an assistant service manager with a background working in addiction and homelessness services, and swiftly used this knowledge to build up effective services in numerous local authorities, including Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, and Argyll and Bute.

Amanda is well-known as an effective organiser, communicator, and leader. As service manager of Renfrew, Amanda’s ability to inspire and motivate staff, along with her willingness to go the extra mile for supported people, resulted in significant improvements in staff retention and outcomes for supported people, such as improved attendance at college and increased rates of tenancy sustainment. 

She has a strong track record in forging new partnerships and identifying untapped sources of funding. At their Paisley service, she established a partnership with the Buttle Trust to provide laptops, bikes, and furniture for supported people.

• “Amanda’s real strength is relationship-building. Her empathy, patience, and kindness have earned the respect of staff, partners, and supported people alike.”

Oban represented a different challenge. A newer service, it was unproven and geographically distant from their other locations. Amanda quickly identified that the priority was to establish Blue Triangle’s reputation in the area, develop her local knowledge and reach out to partner organisations. Her success in accomplishing this secured Blue Triangle's place in the area’s housing sector, with four separate services providing tailored support to people in hugely varying circumstances.

Amanda’s impressive track record resulted in her promotion to head of service delivery (Central and West), where she cultivates excellent relationships with commissioners and oversees services in four local authority areas.

• “Amanda is such an asset to Blue Triangle, with her knowledge, understanding, and experience. She supports staff at all levels of the organisation, and is a great support to me in my role [as director of operations]. She’s been there, she’s done it all.”

Outcomes and achievements

Adele

• Experience at all levels of the organisation, from frontline to management
• Rapid rise from support worker to head of service delivery within five years
• Proven expertise in overseeing complex transformation/change management projects
• Long track record of developing and delivering effective staff training
• Exceptional work ethic.

Amanda

• 20+ years of experience in delivering housing support and recovery services
• In-depth knowledge of four local authority areas
• Recognised ability to build relationship networks across the sector
• Proven ability to motivate staff and supported people alike
• Explores every possible avenue to improve outcomes for supported people.

• Individual nominated: Stacy Angus
• Organisation: Osprey Housing

Statement of support

Stacy joined Aberdeenshire Housing Partnership at the start of 2006 as a customer services assistant. She worked her determinedly through varying roles in the housing and asset teams always with an upwards trajectory. In 2014 Stacy moved onto the permanent position of performance improvement manager. During 2017 Stacy then made the move to the role of housing services manager managing the housing teams for both Osprey Housing and Osprey Housing Moray. This role was subsequently re-designated to director of housing services. In 2021 appointment was made through competitive recruitment process to chief executive following the retirement of Glenn Adcook. Stacy was successful and relished the challenge.

Stacy demonstrates dedication to Osprey’s core values on a daily basis. She manages a complex and high pressure workload along with her other life commitments with calm resilience. Always professional she does not take herself too seriously with the Roald Dahl quote ‘Lukewarm is no good’ as her personal mantra.

Stacy is also the epitome of “making a difference everyday”. She inspires the rest of the team by acknowledging errors immediately, and taking steps to rectify them, with both tenants and staff. She is never afraid to face anything head on and sort it immediately. This has instilled great confidence in the team, being able to see mistakes and learn from them, creating trust and transparency with tenants and each other.

In the last four years, Stacy has led the organisation to even higher levels of performance, embracing the challenges and opportunities presented to Osprey with a seemingly boundless energy. In particular, navigating ever-changing economic situations to maximise rental income whilst ensuring tenants affordability and supporting a programme of business development and digital transformation.

In the current challenging economic environment, Stacy has been steadfast in her pursuit of value for money for the tenants. Average Osprey Housing rents remain lower than the average of our local peer RSLs across all property sizes. Over the last five years (2020/21 to 2025/26) rent increases for Osprey have gone up by 15 per cent in total including two years when no rent increase was applied. This is lower than the sector averages and are well below increases to state pensions, national minimum wage, working age benefits and average earnings which have increased by 31 per cent, 40 per cent, 24 per cent and 31 per cent respectively over the same period. In 2015 Osprey’s management costs were £1,572 per unit. By developing new properties and keeping our staffing levels and administration as efficient as possible, by 23/24 they had decreased to £1511 per unit - a decrease of 3.9 per cent. The difference between actual management costs and the projected cost had they increased by CPI inflation over the same period means that rents would have risen to £2,070 per unit, an additional £46.55 per tenant per month. 

Stacy has fully embraced the net zero agenda leading Osprey to become one of the first Scottish adopters of the Sustainability Reporting Standards as well as attaining silver accreditation in Carbon Literacy. She established and leads the Osprey Sustainability working group.

She sees every challenge as an opportunity to grow and progress personally and professionally, committed to doing the best for Osprey Housing. The rest of the team sees this and it has created a strong sense of loyalty and trust.

Stacy is deeply committed to nurturing new talent and has been key in setting up Osprey’s board apprentice scheme to ensure the succession planning of the organisation. Under her leadership, Osprey has developed an all-encompassing organisational development programme which has included all team members undergoing Insights Discovery profiling, a Fit Like Resilience programme and the introduction of digitally led hybrid working for the whole team.

Outcomes and achievements

Stacy, highly regarded by her colleagues, provides support and continuous learning opportunities, celebrates successes and instils confidence and trust within the Osprey team. Some of her achievements since she became CEO:

• Affordability – by managing resources and investing in new builds Osprey has managed to keep rent increases to a minimum
• Stock growth – 13 per cent (209 units) since Stacy became CEO at a time when many RSLs had stopped building new homes
• Tenant satisfaction surveys – all team involvement
• Rent harmonisation delivery – achieved quickly and with success
• Dedication to alleviating homelessness – working with Aberdeenshire Council, adding the right stock in the right place
• Net zero – Sustainability Reporting Standards early adopter, Silver accreditation in carbon literacy
• Digital transformation – HomeMaster implementation, Tenant Portal, Choice Based Letting through These Homes, Office 365, our own Property Evaluation Tool, new HR system implementation, hybrid/home working
• Full organisational development programme – Discovery Insights profiles for all staff, Fit like Staff Resilience training, Annual Reward Statements for all staff team
• Protected volunteering time for all staff leading to community benefit
• Tenancy support/sustainment – new roles created
• Pension changes – took the staff with her as Osprey realigned to eliminate financial risk.

• Individual nominated: Elaine Cannon
• Organisation: River Clyde Homes

Statement of support

Living our values through leadership

At River Clyde Homes our customers are at the heart of everything we do. When we committed to a review of the operational management of void properties, Elaine Cannon, our outstanding head of housing was there to lead the way.

The project would involve several teams, board champions, contractors, and customers, with innovation and collaboration required throughout. Elaine’s strategic vision and operational acumen were invaluable. Despite knowing the challenges ahead, the team were driven by Elaine's encouraging and motivating leadership, and followed her detailed plan, overcoming the inevitable setbacks that accompany any major project.

Ownership combined with leadership made the project a standout example of creating the right environment to enable our value of ‘every person positive’ - pairing individual services with competing priorities to significantly improve performance.

While there is still work to be done with the review, Elaine's leadership continues to ensure that our value of ‘every home loved’ has been adhered to at every stage. 

Elaine’s commitment and dedication to make ‘every customer happy’ by achieving the best possible outcomes is not only recognised by her colleagues, but also by the communities she works with. Regular attendance at tenant and resident meetings, has made Elaine a ‘well-kent’ face in and around Inverclyde. She has built up a remarkable knowledge of the local area and its people. 

To ensure we are engaging as widely as possible, Elaine set up a project to connect with our hardest to reach customers, directing support to those that need it, but who are unable to ask for help. This has helped increase our tenancy sustainment levels during the cost of living crisis.

Another of Elaine’s key strengths lies in her ability to communicate and collaborate across a wide variety of stakeholders including Inverclyde HSCP’s homelessness service, a quality which has improved outcomes for homeless households and tenancy sustainment reaching 94 per cent.

Working in partnership with our HSCP colleagues, Elaine’s ‘every opportunity taken’ approach has assisted with the creation of ‘Prison to Home,’ a pilot to embed the Sustainable Housing on Release for Everyone standards in Inverclyde to reduce repeat offending and homelessness. 

Under Elaine’s leadership the teams she manages have gone from strength to strength, and managers and officers continue to develop while being led by such a committed head of housing.

This is why the customer service director at RCH has nominated her for this award. 

Richard Turnock, RCH chief executive: “Elaine’s leadership has been transformational for River Clyde Homes. She embodies our values in every decision, every partnership, and every interaction with our customers. Her ability to combine strategic thinking with a deep understanding of our communities has delivered tangible improvements in service, strengthened relationships with partners, and inspired her teams to excel. The impact of her work is felt not just in the numbers, but in the lives of people across Inverclyde — especially the most vulnerable. We are proud to have her as a driving force in our organisation, and I can think of no one more deserving of this recognition."

Councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde Council: “My constituency is very diverse and many of the enquiries come from very vulnerable people, Elaine has always been more than willing to go the extra mile to help their many complex issues.” 

Rhonda Whytock, area housing manager, RCH: “Elaine is an extremely passionate and driven leader, who is well respected throughout RCH and our communities. She is incredibly supportive of her teams and their development, which has led to many staff members achieving promoted posts. Elaine’s innovative vision encourages different ways of working and her infectious enthusiasm inspires our teams to deliver high performance and excellent customer service.”

Outcomes and achievements

A combination of several key factors has led to a more effective void management process and better customer service. Elaine Cannon has made this happen due to her relentless determination and leadership skills. 

Performance improvements in last 12 months:

• Customer numbers increased by over 200, to the highest number of RCH lets ever
• Net rental income increased by circa £700k
• Days to let reduced by almost 60 per cent
• Refusal rate reduced by 13 per cent
• Length of time to scope void properties – reduced by 50 per cent.

Customer feedback via CX Feedback - almost 90 per cent of customers were satisfised with the condition and quality of their new home.

• “Very happy with my house and greatly appreciated the help I have had from River Clyde Homes and from the staff thanks so much”

• Individual nominated: Debbie Delonnette
• Organisation: Highland Council

Statement of support

This submission is a nomination for Debbie Delonnette who has had a rapid rise within Highland Council and within the housing service in the last 10 years. Her recent decision to apply for Fellowship within the CIH is consistent with her efforts to develop her professional career.

Since joining as a tenant participation officer, Debbie has shown a real appetite for working with colleagues, partner agencies and the community in delivering high-quality housing services. Her posts to date have covered a broad spectrum of housing services and have included a particular focus on tenancy management, housing allocations, homelessness and public protection management. As well as adhering to good practice and statutory duties, Debbie has demonstrated a willingness to improve services for Highland tenants, clients and partners and to make a real difference in terms of outcomes, particularly for the most vulnerable members of our community.

Since becoming service lead for housing and homelessness in 2021, Debbie has shown a clear vision for how she wants her teams to perform and to deliver services. A particular focus has been on delivering key services with clearly defined outcomes and objectives. As a leader, she has established the standards of professionalism, training and service delivery that she believes will enable the service to be an essential part of how a modern and forward-thinking public body can bring real benefit to our community.

Debbie has initiated a number of key projects and performance reviews, the below focusing on the last year:

• Restructure of the Inner Moray Firth housing management teams into neighbourhood teams. This has had the intention of a renewed focus of peer support, team working, face-to-face contact with tenants, and geographical accountability for performance
• Development of the Rent Management Improvement Group to target rent arrears performance and to ensure tenants receive the maximum support and assistance e to manage their rent accounts
• A review of the rapid rehousing transition plan with the intention of minimising the time spent in temporary accommodation. This can be achieved through shared tenancy initiatives, priority allocation of lets to homeless households, additional resource targeted on underoccupancy of tenancies, and targeted use of homeless caretakers and relet works
• Introduction of in-house tenancy sustainment officers, to better link with housing management teams and to minimise unnecessary external spend on housing support arrangements
• Taking ownership of the public protection duties within the service, focusing on closer links between SOLO officers and the housing management teams. This has also involved the commissioning of a review into the supported accommodation provided through external partners
• Revamp of training and professionalism through the Highland Housing Talent Strategy. This has focused on using the CIH modules as the means of driving through better training and qualifications for officers, with a clear incentive of improving customer satisfaction and providing clarity as to housing as a career path for individual officers.

In all of the above, Debbie has indicated a clear commitment to personal development and the need for a highly-trained, solution-focused housing service. It is clear from speaking to her teams that they know what is expected of them from Debbie, but also crucially how her leadership can benefit them and build them up. Through her leadership, the culture of the housing and homelessness teams under her remit has changed and matured.

Outcomes and achievements

Debbie has successfully managed and driven the change and performance improvements as referred to in the section above. Her teams are beginning to demonstrate the same performance and customer culture that Debbie displays, and to bring forward real improvements to tenants and service users.

Her main achievement in 2024/25 have been:

• Reduction in the number of households in temporary accommodation in Highland. The figure for 30 June 2025 was 455 households. This compared to average annual figures of over 700 for recent years and is the lowest figure since Highland started reporting this indicated at strategic committee in 2018. There are currently only 71 households with children in temporary accommodation which reflects the efforts of Debbie and her teams to ensure these families are prioritised for rapid rehousing
• Rent arrears are at a three-year low and this is reflected in a nomination for the housing management team for the team of the year category. Arrears are at £2.907 million as at 30 June 2025. This represents a £0.618 million improvement since April 2024
• As part of the Highland Housing Talent Strategy, there are currently 57 officers actively working towards a CIH qualification. 32 officers have completed a qualification in the last year.

• Individual nominated: Barry Sweeney
• Organisation: Homes for Good

Statement of support

Barry Sweeney, head of acquisitions and development, has played a central leadership role in Homes for Good since it started. Since then he has played a central role in the transformation of almost 400 homes. He leads all aspects of property development and acquisition, from initial viewings, management of refurb projects through to completion and valuation. Throughout this time, he has demonstrated all of the qualities which make a superb leader. 

With the team, he is a constant: wise, positive, light-hearted but deeply knowledgeable, and always ready to quietly support, and where needed step in with advice and guidance. He has vast technical expertise in buildings, especially older tenements, the majority of HFG portfolio, and this has enabled him to lead and support his asset management colleagues with complex repair situations, and working with fellow homeowners. 

His hands-on approach as a leader, being available and "willing to get his hands dirty" has engendered deep trust with everyone he works with - his colleagues, external contractors, tenants and owners. This quality has been central to HFG success and has enabled us to achieve remarkable results in terms of quality of renovations - over 500 projects over the last 11 years. 

Barry is a highly skilled communicator, able to nurture excellent relationships with investors, contractors, tenants and owners. Whether he is explaining our work to prospective investors, presenting at a conference or visiting an anxious tenant in their home, his style and approach consistently achieves positive outcomes is informative, inspiring and reassuring. This quality has been central to the success of our empty homes work, which Barry leads. He has supported over 30 owners within the last three years to take steps to bring their empty property back to life as a home. 

Barry's ability to read people, understand what makes them tick and respond to their needs, along with providing detailed technical assessment and advice has directly contributed to their decision to act after years of inaction.

Creative thinking: Barry is a highly entrepreneurial thinker, combining problem solving with innovation and new ways of doing things. He has led on a number of HFG projects, including Rent Ready, our pioneering empty homes programme working with homeowners to become PRS landlords, and our flagship Broomton Road development, bringing a derelict community space and four long term empty homes back to life. His ability to liase with architects to map out the vision, his technical expertise dealing with building warrants through to bringing fellow owners and local residents onside means that he is able to lead and navigate all aspects of project development at the crucial early stages, and lead projects to completion.

Barry’s leadership style is quiet, nurturing, supportive and informal. His organisational knowledge and property expertise is outstanding, and colleagues old and new look up to him for guidance, background information and solutions. He is always approachable and willing to help them, and takes great pride and pleasure in seeing his colleagues succeed. He has nurtured and developed many young colleagues at the start of their journey with Homes for Good, and this enabled them to both succeed personally but also directly impacted on the growth of the organisation.

Over the last 12 years Homes for Good has received many awards and recognition for our work in the private rented sector, and in bringing dilapidated homes to live, including most recently the UN World Habitat Gold Award 2023. Barry is central to this success, and deserves to be recognised accordingly for his excellence in leadership.

Outcomes and achievements

• Lead the renovation of almost 400 homes, and 500 individual projects
• Supported the founder to raise over £25 million social investment
• Designed and implemented the Rent Ready Empty Homes Programme.