Quote of the week
“The ability to put people at ease is the competency most highly rated by co-workers of government leaders …”
— Centre for Creative Leadership Report
Editor’s Corner
We seem preoccupied with leadership in the public sector, and one of the questions that often comes up is: are the leadership competencies for government leaders different from those for leaders in the private sector?
My guess is that those who believe government should be run just like a business would say that the competencies are the same.
The Centre for Creative Leadership has put out a report called “Creating Tomorrow’s Government Leaders,” so we know where that organization falls on the issue.
Their White Paper is based on an analysis of over 160,000 peer and employee evaluations of almost 16,500 government leaders from all levels of government. The report is U.S.-based.
The report asked two basic questions: what leadership competencies are seen as most important for success in government organizations? And how well do government sector leaders perform in the competency areas most critical for success?
Not surprisingly, the White Paper reports that the highest need is for leaders who can lead employees through, and can manage, change. But in response to a changing world, the report indicates that leaders too often get caught in their own functional or departmental world, and fail to take opportunities to develop a variety of experiences in their careers that will make them better at their jobs.
Leadership remains a key and important issue to all of us who want a vibrant and effective public sector. In response to the need, CGE is hosting a government-oriented Leadership Summit on April 4 in Ottawa. We will not only explore the challenges of, and need for, government leadership, but also hand out the first annual awards for change management. Go to http://cgeleadershipsummit.ca to register.
