pension333: Public sector leadership lessons from a permanent secretary

The most essential ingredients of public sector leadership are about vision and visibility ? it is not a popularity contest

Are the key leaders in the public sector those who headed big organisations like the Department for Work and Pensions, as I did, or are the really important leaders the frontline managers: the ward sister, the police sergeant, the Jobcentre manager?

This is just one of the questions that we will be exploring at a seminar at the University of Greenwich on 23 May, where we will also be asking whether there are new approaches to public sector leadership that can help all public sector managers ? at whatever level ? to manage successfully in an era of budget cuts, contracting out and workforce reductions.

Since retiring from the civil service after 37 years ? the last 10 at permanent secretary level in Jobcentre Plus, the Home Office and the DWP ? I have reflected on what I did well and, just as importantly, what I did badly as a public service leader.

Increasingly, I have come to believe that the essential ingredients of successful public sector leadership at every levelare about vision and visibility. It's all about being able to paint a picture of where you want to go and being visible, and accessible, to those you lead. That doesn't mean courting popularity ? the best leaders are not always the most popular ? but it does mean people believing you are real and that you have at least some understanding of the jobs they do and the pressures they face.

Today's leaders will ask themselves what they can learn from great public sector leaders from the past such as Lord Reith, Viscount Montgomery of Alamein and Sir Robert Mark, the Metropolitan Police commissioner who rooted out corruption. But we should also be looking at today's role models in our schools, hospitals and universities. Montgomery's men in North Africa believed in him and his vision; Mark showed huge courage in tackling corruption. But I also saw in my time at DWP how important frontline leadership was. The cynic bred cynicism. The enthusiast bred enthusiasm.

Often at DWP I faced the dilemma of how much I could tell people. There were always reasons for saying little or nothing: lack of certainty, ministerial reluctance to admit to bad news, fear of trade union or media reaction. But where I went wrong, it was generally because I held back. When I told it as it was, the reaction was almost always positive. One thing I learnt was that people can cope with bad news; what they hate is pretence and uncertainty.

Research also matters. It impacts on the age-old question of whether leaders are made or born. That is why at our seminar we are also going to look at some fascinating new theoretical questions on leadership that have direct relevance to the public sector.

We want to know whether being more mindful of our behaviour helps us relate better and make more effective management decisions. How does it matter that staff may both love and hate you as their boss? When should we seek to influence, and when is it legitimate to control?

Public sector leadership has probably never been tougher. But equally it has never been more necessary. We hope our seminar will provide support, ideas and, most importantly, inspiration.

Sir Leigh Lewis is a visiting fellow at the University of Greenwich Business School. He was permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions from 2005?2010.

? Want your say? Email us at public.leaders@guardian.co.uk.

To get our articles on policy and leadership direct to your inbox, sign up to the Guardian Public Leaders Network now.

Looking for your next role? See our Guardian jobs site for senior executive jobs in government and politics.

? For the latest on public services leadership, follow us: @publicleaders

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/2013/may/20/public-sector-leadership-university-greenwich

annuity inheritance tax pension calculator nhs pension pension forecast