'I felt like the boy in short trousers': What’s it like to manage people who are decades older than you?
30 Mar HR

'I felt like the boy in short trousers': What’s it like to manage people who are decades older than you?

Taking on challenging leadership roles can be a quick progression route for younger civil servants, but the experience is not always easy. CSW gets the lowdown from officials who’ve been through it
by Susan Allott
AI curiosity and climate change: What a global survey of public officials tells us about 2026’s big issues
11 May Digital, Data & Technology
AI curiosity and climate change: What a global survey of public officials tells us about 2026’s big issues
Director's Cut: Michael Padfield on flexibility, the Horizon scandal and confusing journalists
08 May HR
Director's Cut: Michael Padfield on flexibility, the Horizon scandal and confusing journalists
Director's Cut: Elisabeth Cuthbertson and Lucy Ryan on job-sharing, agility and the importance of trust
27 Apr HR
Director's Cut: Elisabeth Cuthbertson and Lucy Ryan on job-sharing, agility and the importance of trust
Mastering the five 'P's of presence
17 Jul 2024 HR
Mastering the five 'P's of presence
Una O’Brien and Peter Shaw set out their advice on developing your influence and impact in a work environment
'If you give it your all, I'll always have your back': What new secretaries of state are telling their officials
12 Jul 2024 HR
'If you give it your all, I'll always have your back': What new secretaries of state are telling their officials
Civil Service World picks through the first speeches of Labour's new wave of cabinet ministers
The impartiality of the civil service has been tested to its limit in recent years – is the damage irreparable?
09 Jul 2024 HR
The impartiality of the civil service has been tested to its limit in recent years – is the damage irreparable?
Naming and blaming has undeniably harmed the relationship between officials and ministers in recent years. What will it take to restore trust, after so much tension? 
Keir Starmer: The senior civil servant who became prime minister
05 Jul 2024 Justice & Home Affairs
Keir Starmer: The senior civil servant who became prime minister
What was Keir Starmer like as a senior civil service boss? And what sort of PM will he make? CSW speaks to his former colleagues from his time as DPP
From the archive: Keir Starmer on leading the CPS, making budget cuts and listening to the public
05 Jul 2024 Justice & Home Affairs
From the archive: Keir Starmer on leading the CPS, making budget cuts and listening to the public
CSW interviewed Keir Starmer as he completed his term as director of public prosecutions in 2013. He spoke about how the Crown Prosecution Service had embraced open policymaking and digital working – and warned of tough decisions ahead
'Don’t surprise a politician': PAC chair Meg Hillier on accountability, openness and collecting 'Yes, Minister moments'
01 Jul 2024 Operational Delivery
'Don’t surprise a politician': PAC chair Meg Hillier on accountability, openness and collecting 'Yes, Minister moments'
Meg Hillier has spent nearly a decade investigating the ins and outs of government delivery in her role as chair of the Public Accounts Committee. What wisdom can she share with officials and future ministers?
General election round-up: Huge gambles, stupid punts and WFH revelations
28 Jun 2024 Politics & Constitution
General election round-up: Huge gambles, stupid punts and WFH revelations
Civil Service World looks at what the main parties have said this week – and the impact for the civil service
Crises can strike at any moment – so how can government be ready?
26 Jun 2024 Security & Defence
Crises can strike at any moment – so how can government be ready?
Don’t assume you have time to prepare for a crisis, says disaster recovery expert Lucy Easthope
Educating a civil service that is fit for purpose – Q&A with public administration researcher Ian C. Elliott
25 Jun 2024 Civil Service Reform
Educating a civil service that is fit for purpose – Q&A with public administration researcher Ian C. Elliott
Ian C. Elliot, co-author of new study on professional development of civil service and wider public sector, talks to CSW about what the next government should be focusing and the dangers of civil service politicisation
'You’ve got to establish yourself as credible. That doesn’t always involve saying yes': How to build relationships with new ministers
24 Jun 2024 Leadership
'You’ve got to establish yourself as credible. That doesn’t always involve saying yes': How to build relationships with new ministers
CSW convenes an expert panel to discuss how the civil service can prepare for what's going to happen after the election
Read the summer 2024 issue of Civil Service World
24 Jun 2024 HR
Read the summer 2024 issue of Civil Service World
An election special issue, plus an exclusive interview with PAC chair Meg Hillier
General election round-up: Funding gaps, lazy civil servants and supermajority scaremongering
21 Jun 2024 Policy
General election round-up: Funding gaps, lazy civil servants and supermajority scaremongering
Civil Service World looks at what the main parties have said this week – and the impact for the civil service
General election round-up: Big plans, little detail ... plus breaking up the Home Office
14 Jun 2024 Economy
General election round-up: Big plans, little detail ... plus breaking up the Home Office
Civil Service World looks at what the main parties have said this week – and the impact for the civil service
It's time government embraced the human side of productivity
10 Jun 2024 Civil Service Reform
It's time government embraced the human side of productivity
Equipping and organising people can make a huge difference in productivity levels
General election round-up: Fiscal fisticuffs, a DWP shake-up and a £1bn boost for HMRC
07 Jun 2024 Economy
General election round-up: Fiscal fisticuffs, a DWP shake-up and a £1bn boost for HMRC
Civil Service World looks at what the main parties have said this week – and the impact for the civil service
Preventative policy is a good idea, but politically tricky. What's needed to make it work?
05 Jun 2024 Policy
Preventative policy is a good idea, but politically tricky. What's needed to make it work?
Prevention is an attractive and perennial theme in public policy, but good intentions rarely translate into successful action. In the run-up to the election, a new consensus around prevention is emerging. Could it be different this time?
Five things civil servants should be doing before the election – and just after it
03 Jun 2024 Civil Service Reform
Five things civil servants should be doing before the election – and just after it
Words of advice from former senior officials, including ex-perm sec David Bell, on managing the transition period
General election round-up: Tax pledges and titbits
31 May 2024 Policy
General election round-up: Tax pledges and titbits
Civil Service World looks at what the main parties have said this week – and the impact for the civil service
The art of getting promoted: Grade 6 and the civil service
29 May 2024 HR
The art of getting promoted: Grade 6 and the civil service
Promotion can feel like an exclusive club for civil servants in the early stages of their career. Here's how to move forward
Vetting better: how we turned around the UK Vetting Service
24 May 2024 Security & Defence
Vetting better: how we turned around the UK Vetting Service
Turning around UKSV from a failing, beleaguered service has been arduous but inspirational, says Trish Dreghorn
How should civil servants be preparing for the general election?
24 May 2024 HR
How should civil servants be preparing for the general election?
The upcoming general election will be different from any other. Even if there are parallels, it's your role as civil servants to assume nothing, plan for different possible outcomes and think about ways of building trust with ministers from day one
General election round-up: Sunak fires starting gun
24 May 2024 Civil Service Reform
General election round-up: Sunak fires starting gun
In a new weekly series, Civil Service World reviews battleground policy areas as the campaign gets under way – and examines what each party's pledges could mean for the civil service
Could green fraud become the next big fraud scandal?
22 May 2024 Energy & Environment
Could green fraud become the next big fraud scandal?
Joshua Reddaway from the NAO's Fraud & Propriety team explores the challenge of fraud, error and abuse in net-zero and environmental initiatives
Why do civil servants wear rainbow lanyards? We asked, you answered
16 May 2024 HR
Why do civil servants wear rainbow lanyards? We asked, you answered
Esther McVey suggested rainbow-coloured lanyards are a form of "political activism". We asked what they mean to you