E f f e c t i v e a n d a c c o u n t a b l e s e r v i c e d e l i v e r y Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 66 The performance expectation is that departmental control regimes – assets, money, people, services – are integrated and made effective and that the underlying principles are clear to staff. Stewardship is seen as a critical decisionmaking factor that assures public resources are managed with prudence and probity. Strategic leadership development Good leaders are needed at all levels of government and management. Politicians and public servants alike are the champions of change who shape government of the future. Public organisations that are led with foresight embrace innovation and manage risk as antidotes to shortcomings in continuity and capacity. The environment is so uncertain that steering the reform process without competent leadership at the helm is almost unthinkable. The onus is on public leaders to find ways to increase the capacity to manage, change and improve public service delivery. The pressure to enhance productivity and performance prompts governments to embark upon ambitious reform programmes. The process is complex and requires specialised knowledge and strategic skills to sustain change. Senior public servants are well educated, with many having post-graduate degrees. What is less clear is whether they are getting the right training. It is generally assumed that the business case for leadership development has been made. The Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada5, for example, advocates training, networking, mentoring and partnering strategies to increase capacity. However, resource constraints and unpredictable budgets still inhibit proper investment in public service competencies. In less stable settings, policies and plans must be reviewed constantly to respond to change and complexity. This requires resilient leadership to steer public programs and service delivery. Training, while essential, is insufficient for developing this capacity. A range of applied learning interventions is needed to reinforce leadership competencies. National authorities and external sponsors also need to agree upon yards for measuring outcomes over time. It is estimated that more than one million public servants in the Commonwealth need some form of leadership development. At the same time, the international community is uncertain about the role of leadership in its calculus of technical assistance, claiming that public service behaviour cannot be predicted. The United Kingdom shies away from supporting leadership development, while Australia and Canada still support culturally sensitive initiatives. The business case demonstrating value for money and impact remains to be made before the development community invests. Research is needed to post markers that help make the case for developing the high calibre of strategic leaders required in member countries. It is not clear whether public service managers are getting the right leadership training for the job at hand. Turning individual competence into organisational capacity requires institutional change. Practitioners and academics are invited to join the discussion about how leadership can be developed and harnessed to leverage public sector reform. Endnotes 1 World Bank (2012): The World Bank’s Approach to Public Sector Management 2011–20: ‘Better Results from Public Sector Institutions’; Public Sector & Governance Board, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, The World Bank; 3 February 2012. 2 Overseas Development Institute (2011): ‘Mapping progress: evidence for a new development outlook’; London: ODI. 3 Bourgon, Jocelyne (2011): A New Synthesis of Public Administration: Serving in the 21st Century; Montreal and Kingston: McGill‐Queen’s University Press, Queen's Policy Studies Series. 4 Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (2012): Management Accountability Framework http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/mafcrg/ index-eng.asp. 5 Fyfe, Toby (2013): ‘Executive Voice’; Canadian Government Executive, April 2013, Volume 19, Number 4: Ottawa: Navatar Press; pp. 16–17. John Wilkins is associate director of the Public Management Programme in the Schulich School of Business at York University, Toronto, Canada. His international practice features governance, service and leadership. John was a Commonwealth diplomat with the Governance and Institutional Development Division (GIDD) from 2005 to 2011, and served 32 years in the Canadian public service, the last four in Ottawa advising the Treasury Board on governance and service delivery innovations. Previously, he progressed to assistant deputy minister through the province of Manitoba’s health, government services, culture and finance portfolios. He can be contacted at jwilkins@schulich.yorku.ca or johnkwilkins@gmail.com.
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