PARTNERS IN GOVERNMENT
leading the public sector
through its lEan years
Civil service leaders need to confront the central challenges of delivering
effective public services on tighter budgets with a common vision
A Fujitsu Partners in Government discussion event: Central Hall, Westminster, London – 24 November 2009
Leaders in the public sector today face an unprecedented
challenge: how do they deliver effective and efficient
services while also meeting the urgent need to cut costs?
That was the central question addressed by two of the
country’s foremost experts in leadership at Fujitsu’s recent
Partners in Government networking dinner.
Andrew Kakabadse
Professor of
International
Management
Development at
Cranfield University
School of Management
Sir Richard Needham
Former Under-Secretary
of State for Northern
Ireland and Minister
for Trade, Sir Richard
is now a director at
domestic appliance
innovator Dyson
Speakers – Sir Richard Needham, who served in the
Thatcher government as a Northern Ireland minister and
later as Minister for Trade, and Andrew Kakabadse,
Professor of International Management Development at
Cranfield University School of Management –
approached the topic from very different perspectives,
but delivered a common message. Although the
challenges ahead are enormous, they are by no means
insurmountable. Capable leaders must be willing to
learn, must ensure they have the skills and determination
to expose and heal any divisions among their people,
must work towards a shared vision focused on outcomes
not process, and must address the fundamental structural
and organisational obstacles to success.
Presenting the findings of his ongoing global research
into leadership among more than 12,500 private and
public sector top teams and 2,500 boards across the
world, Professor Kakabadse highlighted how senior
management within the same organisation rarely share a
common strategic outlook. “More than two-thirds of top
teams are deeply divided on vision and strategy,” he
revealed. “It’s alarming how many organisations live in a
world not of shared vision but of division.”
Addressing and overcoming these divisions is a key
challenge for UK public sector leaders. And while nearly
all managers can both identify and articulate the nature
of the problems facing them, two-thirds feel unable to
raise the relevant, different issues at the right time,
Kakabadse’s research showed: “The problem is they don’t
turn this insight into action. They know what’s wrong
and how to put it right. So why doesn’t anything happen?”
As well as the differing perceptions of strategic goals,
another reason for these widespread divisions is the fact
that corporate boards often consist of a large number of
non-executive directors who are distracted by their other
commitments. In Russia, for example, boards are far less
divided than in the West. The difference is they have
smaller, more time-committed boards with a more
intimate knowledge of their business. That understanding
– which actually increases as you face more problems –
is critical. “Good leadership comes from understanding
the organisation you are leading. You need people who
spend sufficient time in the business to understand the
real problems and the personal factors holding you back.
And that needs to be built into the structure of
organisations,” Kakabadse said.
emotional engagement
Relationship skills are also critical – irrespective of
whether you’re talking about relationships with staff,
colleagues, managers, customers or partners. Kakabadse’s
research shows the emotional intelligence of leaders often
fails to match up to their competencies and rational
intelligence. “Doing that successfully comes down to
emotionally intelligent leadership,” Kakabadse said. This
is another key issue leaders must address, he said, not just
within themselves but among their top teams, particularly
since more effective public-private partnerships will be
essential to the efficient delivery of public services.
Interestingly, those in their 60s are the most effective
leaders when it comes to bridging divisions, because of
PARTNERS IN GOVERNMENT
“Good leadership
on its own is not
enough – you also
need to address
the organisational
issues... To get the UK
through its current
challenges, we’re
going to have to find
ways for politicians,
the public services
and the private sector
to work together more
effectively.”
their greater depth of experience and consequent
understanding of people, Kakabadse’s data shows. But
he said that with practice, experience, mentoring and a
willingness to address the issues at both a personal and a
structural level, younger leaders can learn to overcome
these issues. In fact, they must, if they are to face up to
today’s pressing challenges, heal divisions and succeed
in transforming their organisations.
transformational leadership
Bringing people together and transforming the structure
of organisations was exactly how Sir Richard Needham
succeeded in orchestrating change in Northern Ireland
when Under-Secretary of State. A core challenge was
tackling what he considered to be a deep sense of
resigned disillusionment that pervaded Belfast following
many years of division and terrorist activities.
But by confronting the issues head-on, bringing people
together and helping to “grow the diamonds” (i.e. nurture
positive initiatives, influences and efforts wherever
they can be found), he played a major role in turning
the city around. “We organised ourselves into action
teams and went out into communities persuading
people that they could play a part in rebuilding their
city,” he said.
Sir Richard’s experiences in both politics and business
(since 1995 he has been a director at domestic appliance
innovator Dyson) have considerable relevance to the
challenges facing today’s public-sector leaders. Like
Kakabadse, he said it was vital to acknowledge “the
elephant in the room” and act decisively to address the
fundamental divisions, different agendas and leadership
failings that can stifle effective action on making
necessary changes. However, he added: “Good leadership
on its own is not enough — you also need to address the
organisational issues.”
This means focussing on outcomes, not process –
something the private sector is generally much better
at, according to the speakers. And for the public sector,
Sir Richard argued, it also means ensuring departments
“are structured around service to the public, not to their
political masters”.
power of experience
Since political leaders are ultimately responsible for the
structure of government departments, Sir Richard
stressed the need for decisive political action to support
the leadership endeavours of those in the public
sector – not least a slower turnover of those running
departments. “Since I left government, there have been
13 ministers of trade. If we’re going to have proper
government we need ministers who know how to run
things and are in the job long enough to understand the
real issues and make a difference,” he said.
Such issues stirred lively debate among the delegates at
the networking dinner. One attendee was concerned
about the continued “tribal defensiveness” she saw
among leaders in her organisation and wondered
whether it was an unavoidable human trait. “It’s very
human and cuts across all sectors,” Kakabadse said. “But
you can break the silos. It’s up to you to make it happen.”
Sir Richard added that, in his experience, “crossfertilisation” – swapping round people from different
departments – could help significantly in this regard.
Another questioner wondered how you could motivate
people, given the current and future lack of financial
resources available to reward them. Sir Richard disputed
the idea that money was the key motivator. Eithne Wallis,
director of Fujitsu’s Government division, argued that the
critical factor was organisational flexibility, which she
acknowledged was a bigger challenge for the public
sector. To achieve greater flexibility, “lots of things need
to change: HR, management, trade unions,” she said.
A final questioner asked whether it was possible to
maintain the current level of public services given the
inevitable depth of cuts. Kakabadse thought it was, but
reiterated the only way to succeed was to “redesign the
organisation so it is driven by its core principles”. Wallis
thought the question needed to be reframed: “The issue is
how you are going to prioritise and find the talent,
capability and value to meet your needs.” But Sir Richard
asserted it can be done: “To get the UK through its
challenges, we’re going to have to find ways for politicians,
the public service and the private sector to work together
more effectively. If we did it in Belfast, we can do it here.”
What next?
l To find out more about Fujitsu Partners in Government events, visit www.fujitsu.com/uk/news/events or contact alice.caldwell@uk.fujitsu.com; tel: +44 (0) 7867 820641
l Read more insights, opinions and examples of leadehsuip and innovation at uk.fujitsu.com/insight-opinion
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