Public sector leaders need to be more than merely good managers. The times we are living in demand formidable professional skills and a high degree of initiative and awareness
As the summer holiday season draws to a close, public sector leaders will be turning to their latest challenges. They know that the coming months and years will be some of the most demanding that they have ever had to face.
They have to recognise their responsibilities to the community, service users and staff. They will have to fulfil these responsibilities in practical ways. Outcomes will matter. Whilst leadership has always been critical in the public sector – this has never more so than today.
It is a fact, however, that the quality of political and executive leadership has always been variable. The reality is that poor leadership serves the public badly. Bold excellent leadership must be the goal.
Contemporary challenges such as reducing public expenditure at a time of increasing demand for services, and a paradigm shift to greater collaboration between agencies and across sectors are placing ever greater demands on public service leaders. It follows that lessons and experiences should be shared between the sectors, and public sector leaders can and should learn from business leaders, and also from third and social sector leaders.
However, truly effective collaboration requires: a recognition of inherent and structural differences between them; more mutual understanding and easier career movements between the sectors; a readiness to respect and learn from each other; and a recognition that no one sector has the monopoly or moral high ground on expertise, efficiency, imperatives, ethos, ethics, accountability or governance.
This is not to argue that the sectors are merging or should do so. Understanding and sharing across the sectors and a recognition of mutuality, whilst respecting differences, is what is important.
The public sector has special responsibilities to the wider community. It has a leadership role that embraces the wider economy too. Without a strong and focused public sector the other sectors will not be able to grow and make their own contributions.
Public sector leaders specifically (especially political leaders) have to be prepared to take unpopular decisions and be ready to account for them; they have to lead and not follow; they have to seek to change public opinion and behaviour, as well as to respond to it; they must be ethical and practice what they expect of others; and and they should be driven by a moral and values based compass. They must also use the same services or similar services to the public they serve - this being particularly so in education and health. Public leaders should not opt out of the public systems they claim to support.
Public sector leaders have to be collaborative, for the truth is that community well-being, better health, economic growth and so much more all require collaborative rather than single agency action. Ego, control and command are much less important and far less relevant than influence and persuasion. It follows that effective collaborative leadership requires the right behaviours and approaches, the most important being to:
• focus on outcomes
• be strategic
• listen and communicate
• understand and respect others
• understand and be the custodian of their own organisation’s objectives, statutory duties, limits to compromise and governance
• know when to partner and collaborate and in what form; and when not to
• build the trust of and in others
• influence, persuade and negotiate
• be willing to let go, share and support others
• empower staff and partners to act in the same way
• control over-sized egos
All of this requires the right mind-set and behaviours, rather than unending sets of competencies and rules. Public sector leaders must also be role models to their organisations and to others by:
• ensuring that their organisation has a clear vision and strategic objectives, and developing these with internal and external stakeholders
• scanning the external environment – local, national and international so as to be informed about the latest events, policy trends and issues that could impact on or open an opportunity for the organisation; and where possible seeking to influence policy and practice
• communicating policy, vision and objectives as well as the operational plans and activities internally and externally
• being visible and accessible internally and externally
• motivating staff and other key people; and championing excellent employment practices and involving staff in key decisions
• inspiring confidence with stakeholders particularly the public, users, business, board/political leaders/council members and staff
• fostering self-belief in staff and stakeholders and nurturing a culture of innovation, experimentation and challenge
• encouraging informed risk taking and ensuring that the organisation has appropriate risk systems based on an entrepreneurial culture
• continuously challenging their own behaviour and actions; and those of colleagues in a supportive way that nurtures progressive advance
• performance managing their organisation and key senior personnel; and being transparent and open to scrutiny on performance
• developing, reviewing and re-developing talent strategies and succession planning arrangements at all levels in the organisation
• celebrating and ensuring that the organisation facilitates diversity in its staff group
• ensuring the availability of the necessary skills and capacity for the organisation to function effectively
• holding partners and contractors to account
Excellent leadership (or its absence) will literally enable the public sector and public services to survive and grow - or cause it to cripple and collapse. Citizens and businesses cannot afford such a collapse. This is not the time for timid leaders and even less, managers masquerading as leaders. The times we are in demand bold, imaginative and innovative public sector leaders!
