Imagine you are standing in front of a large and complex painting. It’s overwhelming. To get a sense of it, you half close your eyes. Screening out the detail enables you to see the underlying form, space and tone.
This is how I decided to read the “oven-ready” civil service code published by Re: State. There are a lot of good words. By squinting, I made out the all-important form: a strong delivery shape, but little in the way of people.
If there is one thing I learnt as a senior civil servant, it’s that we’re in the people business first up. Yes services, yes delivery, but all for citizens, through the business of politicians and officials. All people. And how we really know about people is through their voices, by listening and hearing them. This is what enables us to understand what makes the difference to citizens, what our elected representatives intend to achieve, and how to lead officials to do their jobs well.
As an executive coach, I work with leaders to find their balance between delivery and people skills. These are the yin and yang of effective leadership. The Re: State code offers us much that is valuable in respect of delivery skills and mindset, especially under the three new values of Excellence, Ownership and Courage. We read that civil servants must:
- Be “reliable and knowledgeable experts” and “continuously strive for new ways to perform their duties better” (Excellence).
- Take “personal accountability for delivering your objectives” and “actively seek to address barriers” to delivery (Ownership).
- “Be bold in identifying opportunities to innovate” and “question the status quo” while managing risk rather than avoiding it (Courage).
I see that performing, delivering and managing are key – all three of them good delivery activities. In terms of the people side, it’s definitely there: CoPilot’s analysis to my prompt suggests the weighting is 25-30% people to 70-75% delivery.
The value of Openness brings more range and introduces the importance of being open to the external, although it sounds a bit technocratic and impersonal, with "obligations on civil servants to engage and collaborate…to stimulate new thinking, learn about new technologies and trends…”
Further in the document, we read that civil servants must “seek outside perspectives, ideas and experience,” “share knowledge freely and widely” and “work collaboratively across teams and departments.” The importance of people skills is highlighted through sample role descriptions:
- Treating the public with “respect and dignity” (HMRC Advisor)
- Valuing “collaboration” and cognitive diversity (Permanent Secretary, Home Office)
When I squint again, I notice the shape and form of collaboration, respect and diversity. But tonally these look like delivery – they are supporting behaviours to the central thrust of the code.
Public service matters a great deal to me, I have spent the best part of my career working for it, and with leaders within it. What I have learnt is that the dominance of delivery-speak crowds out space for reflection, listening and empathy. In the yin and yang of public service organisations, good decisions cannot be made without these leadership qualities.
No-one I have ever met in the civil service – or any other public sector organisation – lacks the will to get things done. But they do lack the capacity, permission and space to slow down occasionally. Too much focus on delivery creates a sense of “running from” – in which leaders become too caught up in the moment to knock back the hectic pace, or too fuelled by adrenaline to reconnect with people.
I have no doubt the code could do with a refresh. Every year as a civil servant I answered the question in the People Survey about whether I was aware of the civil service code. Every year I agreed I should be acting with Integrity, Honesty, Objectivity, and Impartiality. I concur with Re: State that so much agreement offers no helpful friction.
But when we half-close our eyes in front of the final version, I hope to see more balance back towards the people.
Kate Sturdy is an executive coach, leadership consultant and former senior civil servant