How to get on in the Public Service?

I was asked by the good people at IPAA NSW to come up with a few thoughts on how to get on in Government jobs. Here’s what I came up with…

The decade I spent in Government was varied, rewarding and constantly challenging but most importantly, nothing like the stereotypical view of life in the public service. It was important and serious work. And I learned an awful lot.

One. Never lose sight of the “big picture”

In big organisations, (and after all Governments are nothing if not big organisations), it can sometimes seem like it’s hard to get stuff done. Inevitably sometimes “process” and systems can feel like they are hindering your efforts. In my consulting work I regularly come across large private sector business who are so stuck in the day to day (or worrying about the competition) that they completely lose sight of the reason they exist in the first place.

The simple fix applied by management consultants which applies increasingly well in the new Public Sector, is for the whole team to ask the following simple questions.

In this project I am working on today, what does success look like?
Is everything I am doing appropriate and necessary in achieving our goals?

Hopefully you’ll find that just stopping for five minutes to ask the “big picture” question every so often is a useful strategy. In fact a coach I worked with once suggested that all managers should do it at least once a week, making it part of their regular Monday routine.

You don’t have a Monday routine? On to

Two…Don’t let the weeks drag by

Working on complex and labour intensive programmes over extended time frames requires a special mind set. Some of the best advice I received in my time in the public sector was to take control of your diary and make sure that your week didn’t just consist of a series of identical days in a row.

You can avoid getting stuck by allocating time for different tasks. As an example, Mondays were agenda setting for the week. I tried to have all my external meetings on Wed/Thurs. Friday was a good time to check in with the boss and to update on progress. Urgent issues and deadlines may sometimes make it hard to be too rigid about your framework but take steps to ensure that every day in the job is not the same.

Three; Find ways of sharing your progress and achievements with colleagues.

Possibly the biggest difference with the private sector is that its less common for people in Government in my experience to set aside time to share and reflect on what they’d achieved, with people often going from completing one project and straight into another without stopping to smell the proverbial roses.

I’m not advocating having awards night parties or lengthy bragging sessions, but I do strongly recommend that you set aside time to discuss share your achievements with your boss and colleagues, even if you have to create the environment to do so.

Something as simple as a weekly get together over coffee where everyone gives a five minute update is a great way for a team of six to spend half an hour. And it’s also a great way to inspire collaboration and of course for your boss to hear the news. (Speaking as an ex-boss, sometimes it’s nice not to have to ask!

Try it. Not only will it keep you invigorated but I have no doubt that asking for people’s input into your work is the best thing you can ever do.

My advice for getting on in a nutshell? Listen, be heard and make sure that in everything you do, you retain a crystal clear focus on what you are trying to achieve. It’s important work and worthy of your best efforts. Enjoy the journey.