Many of the young professionals whom I mentor focus on getting into the public service, then finding a good boss and a challenging job. My question to them is: “you are well prepared for what you are doing now, but will you be well prepared for the responsibilities that lie ahead?”
Because of the generational shift and retirement tsunami, new professionals will quickly find themselves benefiting from a promotional thermal, which I referenced in an August 2005 article, “Organizational Alzheimer’s: A Quiet Crisis?” New professionals who have prepared extensively for Transition One will quickly learn that they should have prepared sooner and more thoroughly for Transitions Two and Three.
What are transitions one, two and three? Transition One is the transition from school to work, and specifically to “doing the work.” Typically, this means becoming a policy analyst, technician, researcher, scientist, or service provider. Many new professionals will have spent four to seven years of post-secondary education preparing for this transition, and are generally well equipped to effectively handle the work they are given. The main challenge in Transition One is generally not the job itself, or the job content, but more having to learn about government and the way things are done. Thus, for most professionals, this transition is handled well.
However, few professionals prepare ahead of the curve for transitions two and three, which happen typically within three to ten years after entering the public service. Transition Two is the transition to supervising people and then managing a small unit. Transition Three is the transition to leading an organization or a large unit. Because of the promotion thermal already underway, many young professionals will find that within two or three years they are no longer actually doing the work they were trained for in university or college, but are supervising others who now do the work. How many will have trained as arduously to be a good supervisor as they have to become a professional in the first place? In my experience, not enough.
Then comes the second part of Transition Two. With the responsibilities of managing a section or a division come the new challenges of human resources management, financial management, planning, managing up and managing horizontally. When they get there, will they have prepared for the second stage of Transition Two? Will they have prepared themselves in advance to manage those functions well, or will they just muddle through?
Most will not reach Transition Three. But a significant proportion will become Directors General, ADMs and Deputy Ministers over the next decade and beyond – becoming the future leaders of the public services of Canada. Leadership of organizations involves environmental scanning, setting organizational goals and direction, motivating people, measuring performance, working inter-departmentally and inter-governmentally, and working with the political level. How many of our future leaders will have prepared themselves as thoroughly for Transition Three as they did at university for Transition One?
If you are a young professional, what lies ahead are the challenges of effective supervision, management and leadership. My challenge to you is to carefully prepare yourself for the responsibilities that lie ahead – they will come at you much faster than you think. Will you be ready? If you are properly prepared for managing and leading people and organizations, then you, your staff and the Canadians you serve will reap the rewards.
Brian Marson is Senior Advisor, Policy and Service Transformation, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and Senior Advisor, Office of Public Service Values and Ethics (marson.brian@tbs-sct.gc.ca).
