By Dr Anne Hartican Facilitator & Coach – Executive Programs & Graduate Development Program, APS Academy
‘To be effective, the APS needs to be trusted as a source of deep knowledge and expertise in the work of government. This means that we must be deliberate in cultivating that knowledge and expertise, and drawing on it to meet current and emerging needs. Stewardship of the APS ensures that we continue to grow our capability, support our people, and adapt to changing priorities’
Stewardship and capability building
‘Stewardship’; our commitment to the Australian public to not only serve the government of the day but to build a thriving public service capable of serving generations to come. Our reputation today, and the legacy we leave, matter. Every day, our every action, builds or erodes our reputation as an effective and trusted service and strengthens or diminishes our capability to deliver for the Australian public.
So how do we – as stewards of the APS – strengthen the capability of the service in our dynamic and rapidly evolving world? In a recent Academy newsletter article Dr Isabel Hanson argued the value of adopting the model of capability building used in the medical profession, ‘the craft of medicine is developed over a lifetime, through supervision, observation, peer reflection, and repeated exposure to complexity.’ She concludes her article arguing ‘expertise is a collective asset not a personal achievement’ emphasising ‘medical culture expects all staff to contribute to teaching and mentoring’. Hanson challenges the APS to adopt the same approach ‘building a culture of apprenticeship that would support the development of expertise across the service’, an approach to capability building that focuses on learning every day. An approach that is deliberate, intentional and formalised.
Hanson provided an APS example of the apprenticeship model based on Dr Subho Banerjee’s experiences of working with Dr Peter Shergold, the then head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. This example reinforced my observation that the APS already adopts many on-the-job capability building practices albeit in more ad hoc, less institutionalised ways. But this is changing. The APS Academy is actively promoting the value of practitioner-led learning, defined as ‘learning from those with relevant expertise and experience’.
PLL in the APS Academy
Practitioner-led learning is a feature of a number of APS Academy programs. For example, in the Band 1 Leadership Program, a senior SES leader sponsors the program and actively participates in program delivery. This provides program participants with the opportunity to observe the sponsor think strategically and systemically about complex challenges. They hear practical examples of political nous and the attitudes and effort that sits behind it. Participants discuss examples of acting with integrity and taking calculated risks, and of failure. They learn how the sponsor, as a seasoned practitioner, has developed judgment to effectively serve the government of the day, all while exercising authenticity and self-care. The program is enriched by highly relatable stories based on actual experience. Most importantly, participants get to engage with senior SES practitioners who have a deep commitment to the development of others.
What underpins this deep commitment to capability building? Why do our program sponsors invest their time to support capability development? What has been their own experience of learning from experts? To explore these and related questions, I spoke to 4 senior SES leaders who have sponsored SES Band 1 Leadership programs:
- Jaala Hinchcliffe, Secretary, Department of Parliamentary Services
- Pat Hetherington, Chief Operating Officer, Department of Social Services
- Grant Lovelock, First Assistant Secretary, Shared Services Division, Department of Finance
- David Mackay, Deputy Secretary - Sport, Territories and Regions, Department of Infrastructure
You are a champion of the APS Academy’s practitioner-led learning, why?
I asked our program sponsors why they engaged in program sponsorship. In essence our sponsors see contribution to Academy programs as part of their role as APS stewards.
Jaala Hinchcliffe states: The concept of skilling and equipping our people is really important to me. And it’s the giving back to the service what I’ve gained from it. I enjoy the interaction, spending time with people at various stages of their careers. I’m curious to see what people have done which often highlights to me what an amazing service we have.
Pat Hetherington believes: We can’t deliver the government’s aspirations; we can’t deliver for the people in this country unless we have a highly capable workforce. Building the capability of individuals and the APS is part of my stewardship role.
Grant Lovelock argues: The more capable we are, the more skilled we are, the better those outcomes will be. If you are committed to public purpose and to improving the way people deliver on their public purpose, you just do it [develop others].
For David Mackay: I think about the scale of the challenges we face as a sector and one of the most practical ways I can contribute to building the capability of the system, of the service, is to invest in supporting the development of our next cohorts of senior leaders.
Our sponsors all appear to have a deeply embedded orientation to learning and a desire to pass on what they have learnt from their own experiences. They also value the opportunity to build connections across the SES.
David Mackay: I have got a lot from contributing to Academy programs. I enjoy stepping out of my day-to-day work activities to reflect on why and how we do what we do. My role is so busy that I don’t get many opportunities to do that. I think it's great to step back and reflect on my own leadership practice which I do in my sponsorship of SES programs. I also really enjoy the opportunity to build my own connections across the SES; to get to know who's coming through to the SES leadership ranks. Finally, I get to know people who work in different parts of the system where I've never worked; this enhances my understanding of the system.
Pat Hetherington: You get the benefit of engaging with really talented and bright people. It is often energising knowing that some of your advice has helped participants navigate a difficult situation. It’s mutually beneficial. I get to meet new people and engage in discussions about APS leadership challenges; sharing our stories and relating to each other. I find that personally rewarding. Knowing this work is both important and personally rewarding, it’s easy to find the time to participate in APS Academy programs.
Grant Lovelock: It’s always a great opportunity to meet senior leaders, to hear from others and learn how they tackle things and to reflect on my practice. I’m always looking to learn.
How has your development been supported by practitioner-led learning?
Our sponsors provided some fabulous examples of how others have supported and mentored them throughout their careers and what and how they learnt from seasoned practitioners.
Grant Lovelock referred to Dr Margo McCarthy’s term ‘learning gently at the feet of masters’ which relates to the apprenticeship concept: For me it was about having the opportunity to observe and discuss work situations with seasoned practitioners. It's really about the little things like taking people along to meetings so they can see how something operates. Early in my career, this included the opportunity to observe senior leaders briefing ministers or working through complex legislative reform. Observing the way these senior leaders worked shaped my approach to the same tasks. As an example, I remember the first NPP (new policy proposal) I wrote involved my Band 1 calling me into her office and saying we need to write an NPP and here’s a template and here is what you need to do. But she also sat with me and we wrote it together. I remember the power of having someone experienced in the task dedicating the time to helping someone who hadn't done the task before; teaching me how to do it.
David Mackay: the first deputy secretary I worked with as a division head really pushed me on the point that my job is not to have all the answers but to ask the right questions. She also challenged me to ask myself ‘whose development I’m compromising’ if I choose to do tasks myself. Another manager would take David to important meetings and then demonstrate the power of immediate feedback through debriefing on the return journey from the meeting. A third manager committed the time to working together on a complex task: She had the practice of describing why the work mattered and she would discuss where the work sat within the broader system and how it would work its way through the system; the whole web of decision points and how we might give the work the best shot of success.
Pat Hetherington reflects throughout his career he has enjoyed working with people who have supported his development, He reflects on the power of the EL1 & EL2 leaders he worked with early in his career in building his capability and confidence through including him in meetings and events where he would be exposed to how things work in the APS. I got to see really attentive, inclusive leaders who wanted to help build my own capability by teaching me the things that I needed know and they taught me about leadership along the way.
Pat highlights that practitioner-led learning and strong stewardship happens across all work levels in the APS. There is a stack of notable people who have helped me build my capability, but I learn as much from my teams about what ‘good’ looks like and what ‘good’ doesn’t look like, as I do from senior SES and Secretaries. It’s about being open-minded and learning from everybody around you.
Jaala Hinchcliffe talks about the degree of support she had in developing highly technical skills as a lawyer. As Jaala progressed, practitioner-led learning came through her observations of great leaders – watching how they led and responded in challenging circumstances - and identifying the qualities she admired. She would then ‘try on’ the approaches she observed to see it they ‘fitted’ her style and were worth replicating in her own leadership practice. ‘I also looked beyond the APS for leaders I might learn from. For example, I learnt a lot about leadership from my kids’ school principal; she was a fantastic leader in the way she interacted with the school community, so I thought a lot about the kind of leader I want to be through observing her’.
These experiences have all shaped how our sponsors take up their leadership roles, prioritise capability building and apply practitioner-led learning in their own agencies.
What do you say to those who feel they are ‘too busy’ to delegate and make capability development a priority?
Many SES find the demands on their time a key challenge of their role. For some, the thought of ‘adding’ capability building into their daily work can feel overwhelming so I was curious how our sponsors managed this challenge. Here is what they said:
Jaala Hinchcliffe states: I make time for it because it’s important.
David Mackay advises: ‘delegate until it hurts’, that’s the idea that has influenced my approach; it’s a way to force yourself to focus on that very small set of things that only you can do. So much of our responsibility is to build leadership capability in others. David refers to an old cartoon where the Chief People Officer is talking to the CEO and the CEO says ‘what if we spend all this time and money to train these people and they leave’ and the Chief People Officer responds ‘and what if we don't spend all this time and money on training and they stay?’ David argues developing capability is critical in maximising our effectiveness as an APS and that there are practices leaders can adopt to ensure they can devote necessary time to it: I rely on my office to triage urgent things on my behalf so it's not always me that needs to respond. This means it is possible for me to block out four or five hours in the afternoon to go and contribute to an APS program as a sponsor. There are things that you can definitely do that set up the systems around you to make it possible. Of course you need to be realistic about your workload and external demands – I think carefully about when I’ll have the best chance of supporting a program or learning event and then I ensure the people around me are equipped to be the initial point of contact and triage point so that the work keeps going when I’m not there.
Grant Lovelock argues ‘there is never enough time to do all the things we need to do. Ever. It’s about prioritising. Time blocking is important. Developing others is your job as a manager / leader. It’s not discretionary. Delegation is probably the single best tool to developing capability’.
Pat Hetherington acknowledges it is easy to fall into the trap of doing a task that is super urgent or that a Minister needs immediately but argues ‘if you fail to delegate habitually you disempower people who have a lot to contribute and you’re not growing the next generation of future leaders by giving them the opportunity to develop their capability. As senior leaders we need to engage with the real risk of delegating even when there are time pressures, or other pressures, otherwise you’ll always be doing the work yourself. There are ways to mitigate these risks. Delegate, talk to your teams, bring them in and explain what you think the end product looks like, what you think it has to cover and ensure the guidance you are giving people is really clear. Doing everything yourself is unsustainable and a poor showing of the stewardship role we play for the public service.’
In concluding I return to Hanson’s idea of ‘expertise as a collective asset’. With the right approaches building our collective expertise, learning together, can be energising, stimulating, fun and rewarding leading to necessary innovation and adaptation. And so inspired by David Mackay’s insight on the importance of ‘asking the right questions’, I leave you with a question:
How might we strengthen our existing practices to ensure that we, as stewards of the APS, build a culture where all staff deliberately contribute to capability building through teaching, mentoring, reflecting on experience, sharing insights and making learning from experience a priority in all of our work, every day?
‘Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.’
John F. Kennedy