Quote of the week
“…we are really looking for people who will promote institutional adaptations in the public interest.”
Editor’s Corner
The OECD has a report on public sector leadership that looks toward the leadership needs of governments in the 21st century.
If there is one problem we all have, it’s defining leadership. It is more than management, of course, and increasingly people are defining leadership as a series of qualities that individuals use to work with others in response to specific situations, what’s been called a “chef d’orchestre” approach. The OECD conceptualizes leadership as a “social influence process.”
Why does leadership seem to be on the minds of member countries so much? The OECD report says it’s because “member countries are finding something missing between existing public service cultures and the public interest.” In other words, public services are not responding as fast as they should to the forces of change.
The drivers of change are familiar: globalization, the increasing use of technology that has empowered citizens, the increased horizontality of files. They add to those the concern that the private sector is attracting high talent, which means that governments are going to have to find out how to better attract and keep talent. One way is through leadership development and training.
CGE will be holding a Leadership Summit in February, 2014. You should go…see http://cgeleadershipsummit.ca/ for more information and to register.
