P U B L I C S E C T O R L E A D E R S H I P PRESENTATION TO - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

E X P L O R I N G C O N T E M P O R A R Y P U B L I C S E C T O R L E A D E R S H I P

PRESENTATION TO MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR DEIRDRE O’NEILL JAKARTA 10 September 2018

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SOME KEY QUESTIONS

• What is leadership?
• What is public sector leadership?
• What are the qualities of a public

sector leader?

• What are the challenges

confronting public sector leaders today?

DEFINING LEADERSHIP

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The capacity at both the individual and institutional levels to: – Identify and define

• rganisational goals and

desired outcomes – Develop strategies and plans to achieve those goals and deliver those outcomes National Institute for Governance 2003

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

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 Energy  Commitment  Persistence  Integrity  Intelligence  Capacity to inspire  Encouragement of these attributes from the organisation National Institute for Governance 2003

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LEADERSHIP IN BUREAUCRACIES The bureaucratic model of public administration emerged from the 19th

• century. Leadership in bureaucracies

was characterised by

• Upward focus
• Emphasis on hierarchy
• Clear lines of reporting
• The authority of the office
• Well-defined roles and responsibilities
• Reliance on rules and process

FROM PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION TO PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

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Over the last 30 years, governments have embraced public sector reforms. There has been a shift from public administration to public management characterised by:

• Heightened responsiveness to

government

• Improved efficiency and effectiveness
• Private sector management practices
• New forms of financial management
• Changes to PS employment
• Citizens becoming ‘clients’ or

‘customers’

• Monopoly of bureaucratic power broken

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CHALLENGES FOR PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERS

• ‘Speaking truth to power’
• Facilitating citizen centred delivery at

local level

• Enabling innovation
• Managing the tension between the

impetus to act and the perils of doing too little

• Networked governance
• Joined up government
• Community capacity building
• Public private partnerships
• Greater transparency

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7 QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP

1. Focus on vision and clarity about priorities 2. Rational views on what is right 3. Define options and how these can be authorised and implemented 4. Understand how success is measured and who is responsible for what 5. Responsive to political leadership and able to create necessary coalitions 6. Build support through collegiality 7. Understand how solutions can leverage new approaches

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Case study in contemporary public sector leadership: Jim Betts and the transformation of public transport in Victoria

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• Born England 1965
• Former punk rocker and Marxist
• Studied 17thC English history at Oxford
• Worked on rail privatisation for John

Major’s government

• 1999 headhunted to lead privatisation
• f rail system in Victoria at 34
• 2004 appointed Director of Public

Transport

• 2008 appointed Secretary,

Department of Transport

• 2013 appointed CEO of Infrastructure

NSW

JIM BETTS

JIM BETTS AND THE PRIVATISATION OF VICTORIA’S TRANSPORT SYSTEM

• From 1993, Victoria’s public transport

system prepared for privatisation. In 1999 five contracts awarded to three companies for operations of trams and trains. Public sector retains control of assets and performance managed via contracts.

• After initial failure, (one franchisee walked

away, country trains returned to public management), a new, heavily regulated franchising model with private operators held to strict standards was developed in 2004

• New tender in 2009 brings in new operators
• Virtually all public transport in Victoria

now franchised

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JIM BETTS: LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STYLE

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• Direct communication via quirky and

irreverent fortnightly staff bulletin

• Encouraged bold thinking and taking

responsibility for mistakes

• Not bound by ideology or convention
• Self-discipline, mastery of detail,

appetite for work, toughness

• Ability to work with both sides of

politics – not intimidated by political masters

• ‘Jim is the classic iron fist in a velvet

glove’

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JIM BETTS: LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT ETHOS

• On private vs public: - ‘What matters

most is not who owns an industry but the service it provides … what matters is what works’

• On managing staff: ‘To keep the

passion going and to paint the big picture.’

• On his role as CEO: ‘It’s a big role and it

can be daunting. But if you spend your entire life avoiding responsibility and risk, then you end up doing nothing. The point is to change the world, it’s not to shuffle bits of paper.’

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MODERN PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERSHIP

• More than management – but PS

leaders must be good managers

• Must balance innovation with

conservation

• Must balance risk and prudence
• Must collaborate, partner and negotiate

to remain relevant

• Must avoid guru-based prescriptions

and mantras

• Must foster resilient institutions
• More conspicuous when absent
• Can’t be measured but can be fostered -

not merely serendipity

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LEADERS VS INSTITUTIONS

‘We need to put leadership into

• perspective. More, stronger or ‘better’

leadership by individuals will not remedy the current crisis of public governance in many Western

• countries. Today, as much as in any
• ther era, we need prudent leaders

and strong institutions that ensure the dynamic power leaders can wield is both harnessed and checked.’ ‘t Hart 2009

CONCLUSION

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• Leaders must be able to look over the

horizon to identify opportunities and threats decades ahead

• Leaders must construct practical
• ptions for action that are flexible and
• pen to change
• Leaders must bring people with them

Q U E S T I O N S ?

F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a c t D e i r d r e . O N e i l l @ m o n a s h . e d u