Reflection and sense making

REFLECTION AND SENSE MAKING: THE CHALLENGES OF A PERMANENT SECRETARY

Didacus Jules 1 Feb 2013

The Role of Civil Service Leadership in Securing Regional Growth and Economic Development

Some provocations: • Is the public service either “civil” or a “service”? • Location of the public service in the national economy is an

aberration (accountable to taxpayers..but they are the major tax payers – the circularity of the govt apparatus paying for the govt)

• A PS must bring a vision and a sense of mission to their portfolio; be transformational but operationally effective/efficient. This can often mean challenging the status quo and an intelligent subversion of service norms

The Role of Civil Service Leadership in Securing Regional Growth and Economic Development

Some provocations: • Should succession be a matter of “waiting your turn” or

selection by competence/potential? • Obsession with hierarchical structure rather than functional

responsibility... Feed chain and negative impact on creativity and enthusiasm

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Obsession with hierarchy – how enthusiasm is broken in the first years of public service by mechanistic managers... Do as you are told only... Overcentralization of authority & the erosion of initiative... Then a long slow descent into the retirement vigil.

The mathematics of insularity:

1 – 10 = 0 - Eric Williams

The mathematics of regionalism:

1 + 1 = 11 The PS – a major responsibility to move beyond insularity, see the synergies and recognize the benefit of collaboration

MY JOURNEY AS CONTEXT TO THE LESSONS OF MY EXPERIENCE

PS Education – Grenada Revolution Change the world by all means Impossible is nothing The power to do

PS Education & HRD – St. Lucia A vision for change: pragmatic but idealistic The power of team

Vice President HR – St. Lucia HR as determining metric for success; productivity is everything

80’s

90’s

2k’s

“we must maintain an optimism of the will; despite the pessimism of the intellect

- Antonio Gramsci

POLITICAL ADMINISTRATIVE WILL

POLITICAL ADMINISTRATIVE Public needs/wants Expectations

ACCOUNTABILITY Delivery with efficiency

Vision and direction PROGRESS Structure and means Short term – electoral cycle

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES

Long term – development gestation cycles

The popular The necessary

Reform and progress are only possible when the political and administrative wills are in synergy

© Jules 2013

POLITICAL ADMINISTRATIVE WILL

VISION: short term agenda in a long term perspective

ACTION PRIORITIES: choosing options within limitations of possibility

LEGAL FRAMEWORK: Fair and equal rules; guidelines and penalties

PROGRAM & BUDGETARY MATRIX: $ for the vision & agenda

POLICY FRAMEWORK: Dev. Objectives; Sectoral; Equity, transparency and fairness

REGULATORY POWER & MANAGERIAL CAPACITY: to enable or prevent effectively

ETHICS OF GOVERNANCE: setting the tone for the country

ACCOUNTABILITY: the 5 year contract

© Jules 2013

Administrative Will Political Will

Presenter

Presentation Notes

VISION: politics in our system is short-term and invariably short-sighted... The eye is on the 5 year contract that is the vote. Linked to accountability... Political Directorate is subject to this form of accountability; while PSs are not – vital difference between them�ACTION PRIORITIES – understand that politics circumscribes everything... Major challenge is to help politicians to understand the differences in options available, their consequences and their implications ETHICS – more than any other stakeholder in the development game, the politicians set the stage for the calibre of ethics for the country... Corruption at the political level invariably leads to corruption at the administrative level... LEGAL FRAMEWORK – is what protects the Admin from arbitrary decision making and its consequences... Meant to establish a level playing field, and penalties for breech PROGRAM & BUDGETARY – tying available resources to planned action...budget is the principal instrument for the execution of vision POLICY FRAMEWORK -

PERMANENT SECRETARIES

Not so PERMANENT anymore

Political tribalism Blurring division of labor between policy and administration

Policy incoherence

1st working day of new administration – jointly prepared by Minister and Permanent Secretary ...a simple unambiguous statement of macro-policy

DAY 2

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF A PERMANENT SECRETARY?

Old Paradigm New Paradigm

Educational Requirements

• Good first degree with long tenure of service and experience

• At least a second degree or professional accreditation in an area with advanced managerial training and preferably some exposure to a private sector environment

Managerial Capability and Style

• Hierarchical • Participatory/empowering • Oriented to reinforcement of

the system • Oriented to change management

• Systems oriented (managing the internal customer – meeting the needs of Government)

• service oriented (managing the external customer – meeting the needs of the citizen)

• Independent leadership • Interdependent leadership

Skills/ Knowledge and Ability

• Thorough understanding of rules, regulations and norms of the public service

• Thorough understanding of the environment (Government, economy, and social)

• Capacity to manage system (regulatory and supervisory effectiveness)

• Capacity to change the system (proactive, business process re-engineering)

• Strong procedural orientation • Strong inclination to innovation

NEW VS OLD PARADIGMS FOR PS LEADERSHIP

Old Paradigm New Paradigm

Environmental Differences

• Absolute adherence to rules & procedure

• Adherence to policy

• Conservationist and regulatory outlook

• Entrepreneurial and facilitatory outlook

• Dominated by manual processes

• Dominated by computer and information technology

• Heavy reliance on paper archiving

• Reliance on databases, document storage and retrieval

• Business at the pace of people • Business at the speed of thought • Stable environment • Unstable, unpredictable, rapidly

changing environment

Personal Qualities

• Circumspection • Boldness • Willingness to be self-effacing • Willingness to be visible and to

articulate vision • General acceptance and buy-in

to the status quo • Questioning of and preparedness

to change the status quo

NEW VS OLD PARADIGMS FOR PS LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP: the art of serving from in-front

...empower people

...lead by example

...embrace crisis; digest problems

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Empower people: your staff are not cogs in a wheel; encourage critical thinking, innovation to working smarter... TRAINING (not as degrees but as bespoke capacity building – IOB Diploma); blended learning (CXC Operations Mgmt, warehouse logistics). Process re-engineering as basis for innovation and employee empowerment Lead by example – never ask anyone to do what you are not prepared to do for yourself...

COURAGE: the strength to speak and act

...define your principles

...take a stand

...when to break the rules

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Take a stand and breaking the rules... Adherence to policy and procedure... What is the value when those responsible for maintaining themselves breech them? Prennial battle between Min Finance and other (esp. Social Ministries)... SLU WB USE negotiations and the preservation of teachers benefits... Case of the VP sexually abusing a child...��The disconnect between different sections of the public service – Service Commissions and portfolio ministries... Confusion of the nature of the regulatory powers and the division of accountability – to work together does not mean erosion of authority/loss of jurisdiction...

PROBLEM SOLVING think beyond...

...if you are forever outing fires..

...the problem is not money but imagination

Presenter

Presentation Notes

IF FOREVER OUTING FIRES you will never get to grow a new forest... Problem of imagination... Always a creative, legitimate way to actualize a vision...�organizing high level workshop using international expertise without money... inviting other countries to participate at economic cost+ to enable cost free national engagement

NO Ifs Buts Maybes Perhaps

I am greater and more important than my job My job does not define me It is I who bring integrity to my position I define my fit

WHO REALLY ARE YOU?

At the end of the day, any government of whatever political stripe wants a public service that will not just deliver but delight the public with the quality of its service. And citizens want to feel empowered that the public service is working for them and not against them, and that it is accountable to the taxpayers. No one can be satisfied with a service that is unresponsive, archaic, and weighted down by bureaucracy.

- D. Jules 1999

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The imperative of totally citizen centric public service�[caveat: story of the vendor who had to be refunded for her time and expense because of Mined error]

“we must maintain an optimism of the will; despite the pessimism of the intellect

- Antonio Gramsci

We refuse to be What you wanted us to be; We are what we are: That's the way it's going to be. You don't know! You can't educate I For no equal opportunity: Talkin' 'bout my freedom, People freedom and liberty! Bob Marley – Babylon System

THANK YOU