Working life in a public service (not the Australian one) - and to a middle level

public servant, the top of the ladder is not the Minister but the Permanent
Secretary. Ministers come and go - theyre the ultimate boss and decision-maker
of course - but the standards of the Department are set by the senior civil servant,
not the Minister. And Ive yet to encounter a permanent secretary who couldnt
delegate effectively.
And, Id remind you that most public servants have worked their way up through
the organization, which is what you yourself have defined as the ideal career path
for a manager.
The problem that Mahrat describes is one of extremely cumbersome HR rules
within the civil service, the high unionization of the work force, the appeal and
grievance process etc etc. A manager can be the best manager in the world, the
most inspirational leader, but if he has no capacity to get rid of consistently
underperforming staff, then his only option becomes to work around them. And,
obviously, if you have one unproductive, or worse, disruptive, team member,
youre going to have problems, not to mention that the organization as a whole
suffers from the time servers filling the ranks.
I personally think that the civil service needs to get a lot more rigorous on
performance assessments (I like the American State Department system of up or
out), and it needs to give its managers the authority to manage their staff. That
means an end to HR systems which protect the employee at the expense of the
organization, and ultimately the taxpayer.
O ACOTREL SAYS:
09:38am | 26/08/11
@Marley
A manager can be the best manager in the world, the most inspirational leader,
but if he has no capacity to get rid of consistently underperforming staff, then his
only option becomes to work around them.
There is an important lesson that managers must learn. - Its better to ask a
question than make a statement. A question requires an answer , and a
recalcitrant employee must become accountable, in making a statement as a
manager , you might have to defend it when you get it wrong. A guilt trip is often
more effective than a rant and rave !
If anyone should know about the public service, it is me ! The relationship
between Sir Humphrey Appleby, and Jim Hacker is real and alive today. In the
end the public servant must do the politicians bidding. And that is the reality of
the relationship between the Reserve Bank and the PM ! The public are whom
the public service serve !
O ACOTREL SAYS:
09:44am | 26/08/11
@Marley
And Ive yet to encounter a permanent secretary who couldnt delegate
effectively.
Get a job in the DOD ! Had to laugh when Brendan Nelson became minister, he
had two hopes - Buckleys and Nunn !