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nizations (I’m putting that discreetly).
I’m sometimes asked what I learned in
my leadership jobs in the Ontario Public
Service and what approaches I used in an
effort to move the organization forward
(it’s one the reasons for writing a book).
Here’s what I’ve come to conclude:
• Newly appointed leaders at any level
need their own honest assessment of
the unit, department or ministry they
are taking responsibility for. No leader
inherits a perfect organization. We
know and talk about what works well
in our organizations, but the things that
don’t work so well are often left under
the carpet. Leaders must make deci-
sions about the degree to which they
wish to be a caretaker or a change agent
— bringing in some new approaches
and/or tackling some long-standing
problems or issues. Most people in the
organization are aware of the issues in
their ministry or department and are
usually happy to see someone surface
them and make an effort to tackle them.
There will be lots of support from staff,
which is helpful, but that makes it par-
ticularly important that leaders follow
through.
• Change is more viable when a small
number of high-value priorities are cho-
sen and driven relentlessly. I landed on
ones that, in my view, added the most
value to the organization’s ability to de-
liver on the government’s priorities and
improve services to citizens. It’s wise
to seek permission and support from
those above us in the public service or
I
n setting out to write Building
Better
Public Services; A Guide for Practitio-
ners
(Friesen Press), I wanted to fo-
cus mainly on Canada and its public
service practitioners. I addressed what I
consider to be some fundamentals — my
views on the basic elements of leadership
at all levels, and what we need to do to
keep our organizations vibrant, relevant
and responsive to the needs of the govern-
ment of the day and to citizens.
I talk about the ongoing challenge of
working in a context of siloed government
architecture, the need to accelerate and
broaden collaborative policy-making and
service delivery, and what we can learn
from various public service responses to
austerity programs. But the nature and
importance of leadership in the public
sector, and the urgent need to elevate hu-
man resource strategies and programs,
form a constant thread throughout the
book. These strands are brought together
in its final chapter.
I’m a booster of public services, which
are hugely impressive in view of the
challenging environment in which pub-
lic servants do their work. But there is
also considerable unevenness in capac-
ity, leadership and performance. Throw
in some turf protection and risk aversion
and you will find less than optimal orga-
on the political side — but not to wait
to be asked or directed. It’s important to
remember that it’s not the minister’s or
premier’s job to manage public servic-
es… it’s yours.
• Implementing new initiatives, or even
bolstering existing ones, requires the
right capacity. That means aligning our
resources to the task at hand which
sometimes results in personnel changes.
These might be tough at the time but
have almost immediate dividends. This
goes hand-in-hand with managing per-
formance, which is sometimes one of
those things left under the carpet. Deal-
ing with performance issues boosts mo-
rale overall and it’s fair for all concerned.
• Sometimes getting our senior colleagues
on-side for change is the toughest sell,
which is understandable because they
have seen plenty of “bright ideas” and
failed reforms. This was certainly my ex-
perience as a cabinet secretary. Beyond
this, building coalitions of supporters
and change activists is crucial. There is a
discussion in public administration liter-
ature about “top-down” versus “bottom-
up” management. We need both.
• In implementing change, everything
takes longer than you imagine, and more
leadership time too. I devoted about
half of my long weeks to organizational
leadership. Constant communications
on what you are trying to accomplish,
and why, is critical. We are all competing
for the attention of staff in a very busy
and information-rich world, so a single
memo or meeting isn’t going to do it. It’s
8
/ Canadian Government Executive
// October 2015
Leadership
What I’ve
learned
about
leadership in
the public sector
Tony
Dean