1
Executive summary ............................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Strategy outcomes ........................................................................................................................... 6
Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 7
What are the environmental factors and business drivers impacting and shaping the APS? .............. 9
Prominent business drivers impacting the APS in 2014 ................................................................. 9
Long-term business drivers impacting the APS ............................................................................ 11
What does this require of the APS as an institution? ........................................................................ 13
Institutional characteristics ........................................................................................................... 13
Workforce characteristics ............................................................................................................. 15
What does this mean for the capabilities of our people? .................................................................. 16
Leadership practices...................................................................................................................... 16
What leadership gaps and opportunities have been identified? .................................................... 18
Management expertise .................................................................................................................. 20
Core and foundation skills ............................................................................................................ 22
What are the development priorities for 2014-15 and 2015-16? ...................................................... 25
Leadership practice priorities ........................................................................................................ 25
Management expertise, core and foundation skills priorities ........................................................ 26
How will these capabilities be developed? ....................................................................................... 31
Development in practice: the differences between leadership and expertise development .......... 31
Developing leadership practice ..................................................................................................... 31
Developing management expertise, and core and foundation skills ............................................. 32
Managers as developers of people ................................................................................................ 33
How will progress against this strategy be evaluated?...................................................................... 34
Evaluation of the strategy ............................................................................................................. 34
Evaluation of learning programmes .............................................................................................. 34
Appendix A: A note on the nature of strategy .................................................................................. 35
Appendix B: Leadership practices that support a contemporary institution ..................................... 36
Appendix C: A compact between learners, the APSC, Secretaries and agency heads .................... 37
Appendix D: Strategic Centre learning programme evaluation framework ..................................... 38
2
Executive summary
The Strategic Centre for Leadership, Learning and Development (the Strategic Centre) was
established to improve leadership development and talent management across the Australian Public
Service (APS), enhance core and management skills learning, and improve the efficiency of the APS
learning and development system.
The scope of this strategy is to identify and prioritise the APS’s learning and development investment
in building the leadership practice, management expertise, core and foundation skills required for the
APS institution to perform its role supporting government and citizens to the highest standard in the
current and long-term business environment.
The long-term drivers impacting the APS include a tight fiscal environment, a drive to improve
productivity, a requirement to rethink the role of government and the need for transformational
change. In this business environment the APS will need to focus on being highly efficient and
effective, establishing innovative business models and getting the most out of every government
programme. It will also need to be a highly agile institution, able to transform its business in
anticipation of external change and by generating big ideas from within.
In this environment characterised by a drive for improved productivity, a drive for improved
efficiency and effectiveness and transformational change, the APS will require specific leadership
practice, management expertise and core skills to successfully serve government and citizens. This
includes:
 Leadership practice. In the current business environment, the leadership practice of engaging
people to make progress on challenges, to innovate, collaborate and move towards a new vision of
the future is critical for the APS to have the institutional agility required to continue meeting the
needs of government and citizens. Effective leadership anticipates future change, enabling
organisations and people to proactively manage change before circumstances force change upon
them.
 Management expertise. Specific management expertise will be required to support the APS to
improve efficiency, effectiveness and productivity. In a tightening fiscal where there is a
requirement to balance ongoing change with business-as-usual, developing business-oriented and
people management expertise will provide an important opportunity to realise productivity and
efficiency gains. This includes specific expertise in areas such as planning and managing change,
designing business models, purchasing services, programme evaluation and organisational design.
 Core and foundation skills. Today’s APS requires employees who are responsive to the business
environment and who have the knowledge and skills to: operate within the frameworks and values
expected of the APS; understand and support government processes; collaborate within and across
teams/agencies to solve problems; and apply effective public-sector professional skills within their
area of expertise to deliver public value. They also require the foundational skills needed to
operate successfully in the workplace.
For the full set of capability and skills identified for development in this strategy, refer to
Table 3 on page 19 (leadership practices for development), Table 4 on page 22 (management
expertise) and page 24 (core and foundation skills).
3
The strategy establishes a programme of work prioritising the Strategic Centre’s investment in
developing the required capability and skills on the basis of business need / urgency. The programme
of work spans 2014-15 (Table 1) and 2015-16 (Table 2) and includes the design and development of
new learning programmes, whilst delivering and improving existing programmes.
2014-15 development priorities
Leadership
Executive level 2 talent
development programme
Management expertise
Core and foundation skills
Decision-making and judgement
Applying ethical and legal
frameworks
Designing government business
models
Business acumen – purchasing
services for government
APS frameworks
APS decision-making and risk
APS risk management
Risk management
Personal responsibility and public
sector accountability
Creating public value
Executive level 2 leadership
programme
Professional public service skills
Professional public service skills
Delivery management
Delivery
Programme evaluation
Working with stakeholders
Working with stakeholders and
jurisdictions
Developing a business case for
government
People and organisational
development
Working within and across teams
Cross-agency working
Organisational design
Foundation skills
Analytical thinking
Table 1: Strategic Centre development priorities 2014-15
2015-16 development priorities
Leadership
Executive level 2 transition to role
programme
Early career talent development
programme
Management expertise
Core and foundation skills
Decision-making and judgement
Professional public service skills
Financial management and
budgeting
Policy development and
implementation
Programme and project
management
Regulation
Professional public service skills
Policy development and
implementation
Regulatory frameworks and
practices
People and organisational
development
Applying ethical and legal
frameworks
APS procurement essentials
APS contract management
Working within and across teams
APS people management
Business planning
Table 2: Strategic Centre development priorities 2015-16
4
The Strategic Centre’s work developing skills and capability is performed on behalf of the Secretaries
Board, which sets the overall direction for the APS, drives collaboration, prioritises collective
resource use to achieve cross-boundary solutions and gives priority to the creation of a One APS
shared culture. As such, this strategy and its development priorities were endorsed by the Secretaries
Board in May 2014. Approval will be sought for any changes to these agreed priorities, for example
due to an emerging urgent business need.
The effectiveness of this strategy will be assessed as part of a broader evaluation of the Strategic
Centre’s operations, which is scheduled to commence at the end of the Strategic Centre’s third year of
funding (June 2014).
5
Introduction
The Strategic Centre for Leadership, Learning and Development (the Strategic Centre) was
established in July 2010 to improve leadership development and talent management across the
Australian Public Service (APS), enhance core and management skills learning, and improve the
efficiency of the APS learning and development system.
To ensure that the Strategic Centre’s work is focused on building the leadership capability and core
and management skills required in the current and emerging business context, the Strategic Centre is
responsible for delivering an annual learning and development strategy.
Due to resource constraints, it was agreed that the Strategic Centre’s initial focus would be limited to
leadership development. Consequently, the APS Leadership Development Strategy was released in
May 2011 following endorsement by the Secretaries Board.
In 2012, the Strategic Centre expanded its focus to include core and management skills. The APS
Leadership and Core Skills Strategy (2012-13), which incorporated an analysis for core and
management learning requirements into the existing 2011 strategy, was released in September 2012
following endorsement by the Secretaries Board.
Strategy outcomes
This strategy aims to build a leadership and learning culture across the APS that contributes to
delivering on our objectives as an institution: to serve the government of the day; deliver outcomes to
citizens; operate as One APS; and be a highly efficient, effective and ethical public service.
It does so by contributing to the achievement of four human capital objectives that relate to
leadership, learning and development. The human capital objectives this strategy contributes towards
are:
 enhanced capability of current and future APS leaders
 enhanced core skills of the APS workforce
 an efficient and effective leader and core skills development system
 enhanced agency leadership, learning and development performance.
While this strategy is concerned with learning and development, coordinated effort is required across
all human capital levers1 to achieve these four objectives.
This work is performed on behalf of the Secretaries Board which sets the overall direction for the
APS, drives collaboration, prioritises collective resource use to achieve cross-boundary solutions and
gives priority to the creation of a One APS shared culture.
1
Examples of other human capital levers include workforce planning and recruitment.
6
Purpose of this refresh
The 2014 refresh of the APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy updates leadership and skills
investment priorities based on the demands of the APS’s specific business context in 2014. The
refresh clarifies the Strategic Centre’s evolving understanding of leadership practice and management
expertise (and their interrelationship) in the APS, and reflects learning from early experimentation and
implementation.
This refresh also draws the leadership, management and core skills components from the 2011 and
2012-13 strategies into a single cohesive strategy.
Scope
This strategy aims to identify existing gaps and opportunities to develop capability and skills across
four related development areas:
 Leadership practices that mobilise others to make progress on challenges and that set the culture
of our workplaces. This strategy understands leadership to be a practice rather than a position and
leadership is practiced at all levels.
 Management expertise which builds on core skills, developing the knowledge and skills that
allow individuals in positions of authority to successfully negotiate public service systems and
processes.
 Core skills that comprise public sector-specific knowledge and skills that are essential to the
public service institution and of relevance to all public servants.
 Foundation skills, essential workplace skills which are relevant to employees at all levels. These
skills underpin core skills and management skills, and they are essential for operating effectively
in an organisation.
Job family or agency-specific skills are beyond the scope of this strategy.
Methodology
Refresh methodology
This refresh used a human capital strategy development approach (see Appendix A for a note on the
nature of strategy): APS business drivers were analysed to identify requirements for and to prioritise
investment in developing leadership capability, management expertise and core and foundation skills
across the service.
As this was a strategy refresh, research and consultation activities were highly targeted, with
consultation focused on senior APS employees and respected private sector Chief Executive Officers
with a strong interest in leadership learning and development.
The refresh addresses six questions, which will be revisited in future strategy refreshes. The six
questions addressed by this strategy are:
1. What are the environmental factors and business drivers shaping the APS?
2. What does this require of the APS as an institution?
7
3. What does this mean for the capabilities of our people?
4. What are the development priorities for 2014-15 and 2015-16?
5. How will these capabilities be developed?
6. How will progress against this strategy be evaluated?
The APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy in context
The first two questions assessed in this strategy (What are the environmental factors and business
drivers shaping the APS; What does this require of the APS as an institution) are about the APS
institution, while the remaining questions are more narrowly focused on capability requirements.
To ensure that the capability development response identified in this strategy aligns and supports the
APS institution to respond to its business environment, it was necessary to address broad institutional
issues before identifying capability development responses.
The authors acknowledge that learning and development / capability responses are not the sole means
of achieving the institutional transformation demanded by our environmental context. Indeed, it
would be inappropriate to consider capability development to be the sole means of achieving
transformational change across the APS.
Addressing the institutional transformation identified by these two institutional-level questions
requires a range of change levers to be pulled. These include addressing organisational structure,
culture, systems and processes, and human capital responses. However as the scope of this strategy is
limited to learning and development (which is one sub-lever within the human capital suite), the
strategy does not propose a broader set of responses. Figure 1 demonstrates.
Factors impacting how the
institution performs its role
The APS serves the government of the day and delivers improved outcomes
for citizens by operating efficiently, effectively and ethically
Strategy question 1 
Institutional response to
the business environment
Transformational
Rethinking
Increasing
Tight fiscal
Environmental factors and business drivers impacting the institution
change
government role
productivity
environment
Strategy question 2 
Explicit institutional choices about what needs to change and what should remain
Organisational
structure
Organisational
culture
Human capital
Systems &
processes
Optimising the
institutional structure to
achieve cohesive
outcomes
Shaping standards for
behaviour, practices and
workplace interaction
Optimising the
effectiveness and use of
our people resources
The systems and
processes used to deliver
policy, programs, services
and regulation
Levers to achieve institutional
change / transformation
Employment conditions
Performance management
Workforce planning
Recruitment & retention
Learning & development
responses to support
institutional change
Strategy questions 3-6



Learning & development
Human capital
responses
Human capital responses to
support institutional change
(not a comprehensive list)
APS Institutional factors
Our role as an institution
Figure 1: The APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy in context
8
What are the environmental factors and business drivers impacting
and shaping the APS?
The APS must position itself to respond effectively to the environmental factors and business drivers
impacting it, including global trends, national priorities and internal imperatives. The long-term trends
identified in the APS Leadership and Core Skills Strategy 2012-13 and in the APS Leadership
Development Strategy 2011 remain relevant, with some shifts in emphasis reflecting the environment
in 2014.
The following section sets out the long-term business drivers that have been consistently shaping the
APS since work was undertaken on the first strategy in 2010 and will also outline key business drivers
that gained particular prominence in 2014 with significant implications for the APS.
Prominent business drivers impacting the APS in 2014
A National Commission of Audit
In 2014, the work of the National Commission of Audit will play a particular role shaping what and
how the APS carries out its work on behalf of government and citizens. The National Commission of
Audit’s terms of reference identified a number of themes that will shape the APS into the future,
including reviewing Commonwealth government activities to identify:
 Whether there is a compelling case for the Commonwealth to continue with an activity, and if so,
whether there is a strong case for the continued direct involvement of government, or whether the
activity could be undertaken more efficiently by other sectors.
 Options for greater efficiencies in Australian government, including:

Increasing contestability of services;

Rationalising the service delivery footprint to ensure better, more productive and efficient
services; and

Consolidating government support functions.
 Improvements to the overall efficiency and effectiveness with which government services and
policy advice are delivered, including ensuring taxpayers receive value for money for each dollar
spent and eliminating wasteful spending.
A tighter long-term fiscal environment
The 2012 strategy identified that the APS had entered a period of tight resourcing, which was
expected to persist for some time. The 2014 budget confirmed this with a number of measures to
reduce expenditure. As a result the environment continues to be one in which the pressures of
delivering with fewer resources and responding to increasingly complex policy challenges will
continue.
A tighter long-term fiscal environment will mean the APS will need to find new ways to meet
government objectives. This will demand a new focus on innovative approaches to delivering the
government’s agenda and reinforces the requirement for the APS to remain forward looking, with a
9
focus on getting better results from government programmes through sound problem analysis, creative
design and rigorous programme evaluation.
Increasing APS productivity
The 2012 strategy identified that the public service faced the challenge of delivering in emerging
areas within tight budgets and timeframes2, together with a drive for improved public sector
productivity. This has been confirmed with the Government’s policy agenda including a significant
focus on boosting productivity and the tight long-term fiscal environment requiring the APS to find
new ways to improve the effectiveness or reduce the cost of public sector activities.
The State of the Service Report 2012-13 identified three key areas for boosting APS productivity:
improving the efficiency of administration across the APS; obtaining better results from government
programmes; and maximising public value by improving organisational effectiveness (including
building capability, effective organisational design, work assignment and achieving high
performance).
Rethinking government’s role across all sectors
The Government’s policy agenda and terms of reference for the National Commission of Audit signal
a fundamental rethink of government’s role and scope. This includes reconsidering whether existing
activities should continue, determining whether there is a case for government’s direct involvement in
an activity or whether it could be undertaken more efficiently by other sectors or jurisdictions, and the
principle that government should only do for citizens what they cannot do for themselves.
A re-examination of government’s role will have likely repercussions across the APS and beyond,
ushering in a period of transformative change as the APS takes on new roles, ceases activities and
modifies others.
From a rapid pace of change to transformative change
The 2011 strategy identified the rapid pace of change, particularly in the area of technology as a key
driver shaping the APS’s approach to doing business. Change is also central to the nature of APS
work, which is characterised by rapidly changing policy priorities and drivers. This is unlikely to
change in the near to medium-term.
In 2014, the convergence of a tight long-term fiscal environment, the drive for APS productivity
improvements and rethinking the role of government will see this trend shift from a rapid pace of
change to a requirement for transformative change across the APS institution. This will include
adopting new business models and new ways of working across sectors. In this environment, the APS
will need the ability to anticipate and respond quickly, efficiently and effectively to the drivers of
change.
2
Australian Public Service Commission (2012). The APS Human Capital Environmental Scan. Australia: Commonwealth of
Australia
10
Long-term business drivers impacting the APS
From increasing citizen expectations to shaping citizen expectations
The 2011 strategy identified that the APS was facing the long-term trend of increasing citizen
expectations. The 2012 strategy expanded on this, noting that the rapid pace of technological change
together with the proliferation of personalised services was shifting the expectations of government,
with citizens and business expecting services to meet their unique needs by delivering tailored, placebased services that make use of modern technology.
Delivering improved citizen outcomes is at the heart of the APS’s work and citizens should expect a
high level of service, including joined up services. However in a tight fiscal environment the APS also
has a critical role in shaping citizen expectations about what government is able to do for them. This
will require leaders with the ability to shape meaningful engagement with the community, together
with the ability to make effective use of modern technology whilst proactively managing
implementation risks.
Demographic change – a diverse workforce is the future for the APS
Across the nation, businesses are anticipating the impact of changing workforce demographics. By
June 2050, around 22.6% of the Australian population is projected to be aged 65 and over3. Over time,
there will be a reduction in the available workforce and an increase in the competition for talent. For
public sector organisations, it will be essential to attract and retain a diverse workforce, including
different generations, cultures and minority groups. This will require an APS with skilful people
managers.
With competition for talent at a premium, it is essential that the APS attract and retain a diverse
workforce, including different generations, cultures, values and minority groups. The focus on
Indigenous outcomes is a significant priority for the Government, and the APS and its employees are
significant contributors.
A contested environment for public policy
In an expanding market for policy advice, the public service will need to remain mindful of balancing
responsiveness to government with providing robust, impartial advice. In an expanding market
offering policy and service delivery, the APS must respond effectively to the changing nature of work
while making sound decisions within APS values and frameworks.
This means the APS will need the ability to scan the environment to understand the future drivers of
policy and change, strong professional public sector skills and the ability to remain ethical and valuesdriven.
3
Commonwealth of Australia (2010). Australia to 2050: Future Challenges, The 2010 Intergenerational Report. Canberra:
Commonwealth of Australia.
11
Increased quantity and speed of information
Technology-enabled communications have transformed the workplace into one where workers deal
with more data and information than ever before. Faced with vast quantities of information and
competing priorities, public servants today require the skills to plan and prioritise, quickly identifying
the important from the critical.
With the trend towards ‘big data’, the APS will need to harness and manage more information than
ever before, while maintaining trust by managing risks and privacy implications in line with the high
accountability standards of citizens and government.
Multi-faceted challenges in a large, complex interdependent system
In today's environment, the APS is increasingly confronted by complex, adaptive challenges such as
climate change or water allocations. These are challenges that have no clear answers, no easy
solutions and often result in policy being highly contested4.
The nature of today’s work requires collaboration between multiple stakeholders with a range of
expertise and experience. This includes operating as One APS by engaging with other agencies to
progress challenges, as well as seeking solutions outside the APS by working with citizens, across
governments and across sectors. The current agenda includes a particular emphasis on making
progress on the challenge of Indigenous disadvantage.
4
Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Tools and Tactics for Changing Your
Organization and the World. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
12
What does this require of the APS as an institution?
It is up to us [the APS] to adapt to the expected leaner operating environment. To do so we need to
boost our productivity … [including by] investing in systems and cultures that ensure effort is
applied in line with changing priorities, that the contribution of each employee is as high as it can be,
and that we are proficient in planning for and managing change. Ensuring our workplaces are open to
ideas and routinely generate innovations both in policy work and in delivery systems ... Building a
culture that is up for transformational change – one which readily accepts that what may have
seemed previously unthinkable is not only thinkable but achievable.
-
Dr Ian Watt, Secretary Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 6 December 2013
Institutional characteristics
Successful and enduring organisations are generally those that identify long-term trends shaping their
business and take proactive action to ensure their organisation is positioned to succeed in this
environment.
The long-term drivers impacting the APS include a tight fiscal environment, a drive to improve
productivity, a requirement to rethink the role of government and the need for transformational
change. For the APS institution to successfully serve government and citizens in this long-term
environment, the institution needs to work towards implementing changes or reinforcing existing
practices that ensure the APS is:
 Highly efficient and effective – an institution that gets the most out of every taxpayer dollar,
establishing innovative business models to get the most out of government programmes.
 Transformative – a highly agile institution able to anticipate changes and find novel ways of
delivering public value.
 Enduring – an institution that serves the government of the day, providing impartial advice in the
public and national interest.
A highly efficient and highly effective institution
Faced by a tighter long-term fiscal environment and a drive to improve productivity, a successful APS
institution is one that is highly efficient and highly effective. As an institution responsible for
administering taxpayer resources, the APS has a strong imperative to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of public programmes and agency operations.
In the current long-term business environment, a highly effective APS institution is one which works
effectively with other sectors and jurisdictions, including the private sector, not-for-profit sector,
states and local government. Given the cross-cutting nature of much of the APS’s work, with policy
and delivery challenges rarely the sole domain of a single agency, an effective APS is one that works
with a One APS ethos, collaborating to find genuine solutions.
In pursuit of efficiency, the APS institution will need to be commercially adept, designing and
implementing new business models (including commercial partnerships) to deliver services and
advice. In some instances, this will include transitioning from taking a direct service delivery role to
being a purchaser of services.
13
As a highly efficient and effective institution, the APS also needs to:
 Engage effectively with risk – being neither so averse as to stifle creativity, nor so blasé as to
ignore real hazards;
 Rigorously evaluate programmes to have assurance they achieve outcomes for citizens and to
ensure every dollar is spent efficiently; and
 Be composed of efficient and effective organisational units.
A transformative institution
A fundamental rethink of the role of government combined with drive to achieve ever greater levels
of efficiency and effectiveness will require the APS to be an agile, flexible institution able to
transform itself in anticipation of external changes and by generating big ideas from within.
Truly transformative organisations aren’t those that simply respond to external drivers –
transformative organisations are those that are able to understand and anticipate changes, and
proactively transform their business to position themselves for success. As with transformative private
sector organisations, a transformative APS institution will be one that engages with experimentation
and learns from failure. It will also be one that seeks out innovation, delivering improved public value
by testing novel approaches, new methods and better solutions.
An enduring institution
The APS plays an important role in our system of government, with public servants exercising
authority on behalf of the Australian Government and managing significant resources. The APS’s
work touches the life of every Australian, and government and citizens rightly expect the highest
standards of conduct and professionalism from the APS.
Given the important role the APS plays, even in the face of great change the APS needs to be an
enduring institution, one which will:
 Continue to provide highly professional support to the government of the day and deliver
improved outcomes for citizens;
 Perform its functions ethically, underpinned by strong values and a proud Westminster tradition;
and
 Attract, retain and leverage diversity to deliver business outcomes – drawing capability and policy
insights from a workforce that reflects the rich Australian community we serve.
14
Workforce characteristics
An APS institution that is enduring, transformative, highly efficient and highly effective requires a
workforce with both transformational and enduring qualities. That is, there are current / enduring
workforce attributes that are central to the APS maintaining the confidence and trust of government
and citizens. Equally, the APS workforce will require transformative qualities in order to change and
innovate.
Transformative workforce qualities
Transformational qualities of the APS workforce will be vital to support improved efficiency,
effectiveness and institutional change. In a transformational environment, the APS workforce will
need the ability to apply a high level of business and commercial acumen to policy and delivery
challenges in order to advise government on the most efficient and effective implementation and
delivery options. This will include the ability to embrace, test and apply technology to deliver
improved citizen outcomes.
In seeking to make progress on highly complex challenges, members of the APS workforce will need
to embrace the behaviours that enable genuine collaboration and surface fresh thinking. This means
members of the workforce will need to proactively engage, listen and seek input from others to gain a
broader perspective on issues. They will also need the ability to constructively challenge thinking,
assumptions and existing approaches in a respectful manner to generate outcomes.
Other transformational qualities of the APS workforce include:
 Maintaining high levels of resilience and engagement in the midst of change;
 The ability to constructively raise difficult questions to prompt new thinking, point out
contradictions or overlooked risks, and raise missing points of view; and
 Embracing continuous learning, striving for ongoing improvement while recognising that learning
takes time and investment.
Enduring workforce qualities
Enduring attributes of the APS workforce are those that are essential for the APS to maintain the
confidence and trust of government. This means that members of the APS workforce must accept
personal responsibility for delivering on their accountabilities, making appropriate use of authority to
deliver outcomes and being held to account for the efficient and effective use of resources. The APS
workforce must also actively guard the APS values, call poor behaviour, display moral courage when
needed and be willing to stand apart from the crowd.
Enduring attributes of the APS workforce are also those that enable the APS to deliver the highest
quality advice to government and the highest service to citizens. This means that the APS workforce
must have professional public sector skills in order to deliver public value and support the government
of the day, together with a strong understanding of and ability to comply with legal obligations.
15
What does this mean for the capabilities of our people?
The scope of this strategy is to examine the leadership practice, and the foundation, core and
management skills required for the APS institution to serve government and citizens to the highest
standard in the current long-term business environment. The following section identifies the skills and
capability needed in the APS’s current business environment.
Leadership practices
In my view, everyone in the APS is a leader, whether or not they have staff working for them.
Everyone can model the leadership behaviours that help influence and set the tone for the workplace.
Everyone can behave with honesty and integrity, share their skills and expertise, encourage those
around them, give praise for good work or progress and notice when someone they work with needs
particular help or support. And also I want every member of the APS to be able to develop their
ability to lead and to manage.
- Dr Ian Watt AO, “The APS: now and in the future”, November 2011
The complexity, pace and interconnectedness of the APS and the challenges it faces means that
leadership capability is required from all public servants: political nous, strategic thinking, change
capability, people and interaction skills, and the qualities associated with ‘being’ a leader are critical
for the public service now and in the future.
As the environment for policy and service delivery changes, our culture needs to adapt and the APS
requires effective leadership practice across the APS at all levels. While senior public servants have
important roles as key decision makers and role models, they are not the sole custodians of our culture
and are not alone in their responsibility to practice leadership.
What is leadership and what does it contribute in the current business context?
Leadership is the practice of mobilising people to make progress on challenges and thrive5. In the
current APS business environment, which is characterised by a fundamental rethink of government’s
role and significant ongoing change, the leadership practice of engaging people to make progress on
challenges, to innovate, collaborate and move towards a new vision of the future is critical to the APS
having the institutional agility required to continue to meet the needs of government and citizens.
Effective leadership anticipates future changes, enabling organisations and people to proactively
manage change before circumstances force change upon them.
What does this really mean?
 Leadership is a practice: this means leadership is something a person does, it isn’t about seniority
or particular personality traits. Therefore anyone, at any level, can exercise leadership. Appendix B
outlines some of the leadership practices that all employees can actively display.
5
From Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Tools and Tactics for
Changing Your Organization and the World. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
16
 Mobilising people to thrive: this means leadership is about motivating, organising or inspiring
others to do something useful or beneficial for the collective good. It isn’t about getting people to
do what you want and it isn’t about mobilising people for personal gain.
 Making progress on challenges involves change. This may mean changing existing ways of doing
things, existing behaviours, existing assumptions, and also determining what should remain the
same. Challenges come in all forms: they can be large or small; they can involve progressing
difficult opportunities or progressing tough problems.
 Leadership is something a person chooses to do sometimes when faced with specific challenges.
Leadership is particularly called for when a shift is required in behaviours, beliefs or values. For
other challenges, management and/or subject matter expertise will be more effective than
leadership practice.
Our evolving understanding of leadership
The Strategic Centre’s understanding of leadership and its contribution to our APS business has
gained clarity with each strategy iteration. The 2011 strategy recognised that leadership is about
anticipating the future and navigating change, however it also argued that leadership is ‘a
combination of leadership and management’ and associated leadership with a position / hierarchy.
The 2012-13 strategy clarified our understanding, recognising that the APS needed two distinct but
related capability sets: leaders focused on the future change and managers able to deliver. It also
disassociated leadership with level or hierarchy, recognising leadership as a practice at all levels.
This 2014 strategy clarifies the vital role of leadership practice in an environment characterised by
fundamental change that demands institutional and individual agility. It remains a practice, rather
than a position, and more than ever the APS needs people at all levels to exercise leadership.
Why develop leadership capability?
Transformative change. The APS is facing a period of transformative and ongoing change that
demands significant institutional and individual agility. This requires sophisticated leadership practice
at all levels of the APS that anticipates and responds to changes in our external environment, unlocks
innovation and collaboration, and enables employees to collectively move towards a shared vision of
the future, whilst still delivering programmes and services.
Complex policy and delivery challenges. The APS is at the forefront of progressing complex policy
and delivery challenges. These are challenges without ready solution and often require
experimentation, learning, new ways of operating and discomfort.
Making progress on challenges of this nature – whether policy, delivery or organisational challenges –
requires skilled leaders who can “engage people in facing the challenge, adjusting their values,
changing perspectives and developing new habits of behaviour6”.
6
Heifetz, R. (1994). Leadership Without Easy Answers, Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachussetts.
17
Working across boundaries. Challenges facing the APS increasingly cut across organisational units
and across agency boundaries, requiring a One APS ethos. The work of leadership is to create the
environment for groups to collaborate, drawing out competing legitimate perspectives, exploring
values and assumptions, helping groups to see one another as problem-solving resources, rather than
battling to protect turf.
Improved performance and engagement. Research7 shows high quality leaders have a significant
impact on business performance: the difference in business outcomes between top leaders and average
leaders is at least 50%; organisations with high quality leaders are three times more likely to retain
employees and have five times the number of highly engaged leaders.
Progress check: how is the APS going?
The State of the Service Report 2012-13 indicates an improvement in the APS’s leadership capability
in recent years, but further work is needed:
-
41% of employees believe that senior employees lead and manage change effectively.
-
48% of employees reported that leadership is of a high quality in their agency (up from 47% in
the previous year).
-
45% of employees reported that their senior leaders are sufficiently visible (up from 40% in the
previous year).
What leadership gaps and opportunities have been identified?
This refresh has confirmed the relevance of the five main areas of focus for developing leadership
practice: political nous, strategic thinking, leading people, leading change and being a leader.
Table 3 on the next page shows the leadership practice priorities identified in this strategy. In an
environment of significant change and with an emphasis on productivity, there have been some
changes of emphasis in the existing framework, including an increased prominence on anticipating
future change, plus the addition of practices supporting collaboration, innovation, moral courage and
independent judgement.
7
Boatman, J. & Wellins, R.S. (2011). Global Leadership Forecast, Development Dimensions International, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
18
Political nous
Strategic thinking
Scanning the
political, cultural and
social environment
Increased
prominence in 2014:
Scanning the
horizon and
anticipating future
change
Diagnosing
situations, systems,
challenges
Strategic
questioning
Analysing
stakeholders,
issues, concerns,
perspectives
Political nous
Leading people
Leading change
Being a leader
Creating a culture in
which people thrive
New in 2014:
Working
collaboratively,
facilitating
interaction and
innovation
Ways of
understanding self
and others in the
world
Fostering an
engaged and
accountable culture
Engaging in
dialogue
Emotional
intelligence
Generating options
and possibilities
Working with others
to create a vision
Building alliances
and partnerships
Resilience,
continual learning,
agility and
adaptability
Gathering evidence
Mobilising the
capacity, strengths
and leadership of
others
Brokering solutions
and commitment to
action
Authentic leadership
Weighing up
alternatives
Fostering diversity
Mobilising systems
Self-regulation and
social awareness
Balancing
competing interests
and values
Being and
stewardship of an
APS culture and
institution
Developing and
implementing plans
for strategic action
New in 2014: Moral
courage &
independent
judgement
Table 3: Leadership practices for development across the APS
19
Management expertise
As public servants move into positions of authority they require the management expertise that
ensures they understand and take personal responsibility for delivering on their accountabilities, that
support sound decision-making and enable them to navigate APS systems and processes to support
effective execution.
What is management expertise and what does it contribute in the current business context?
Management is the use of formal authority and processes to get things done.
Good management occurs when individuals understand and take personal responsibility for delivering
on their accountabilities, appropriately using the authority that comes with their role to do so. In the
public sector, management responsibilities bring with them accountability for delivering outcomes
and using resources effectively, together with the delegations that define the scope of a role’s
management authority, particularly in relation to the use of resources.
Good management is recognisable when “things just work”. Customer queries are answered on time,
correct payments are made to citizens, projects deliver their intended outcomes on time, programmes
are rigorously evaluated and effective business models are designed and implemented.
What does good management look like in the workplace?
 Employees take personal responsibility for, and are held accountable by themselves and their
supervisors, for performing the activities they have been employed to do to a high standard.
 Employees understand the authority they have as part of their job, and use that authority to get the
work expected of them done. For example they make decisions they are authorised to make, they
complete tasks they are employed to complete.
 When something goes wrong, employees use their skills / experience and the authority that goes
with their job to fix things.
Our evolving understanding
As with leadership practice, the Strategic Centre’s understanding of management expertise and its
contribution to our APS business has gained clarity with each strategy iteration. From the 2012-13
strategy, management expertise was recognised as being distinct from leadership practice.
For the first time, the 2014 strategy explicitly links management expertise with taking personal
responsibility for delivering on accountabilities. It also acknowledges that the current business
drivers impacting the APS are likely to require particular management expertise across the APS. An
emphasis on government efficiency and fundamentally rethinking government’s role and delivery
approach requires improved management expertise across key areas, for example business acumen
and commercial skills.
Additionally, the 2014 strategy clarifies that that leadership and management are used in tandem in
daily practice, but distinguishes between the two for the purposes of capability development.
20
Why develop management expertise?
Improve productivity. As with any organisation, the APS needs to operate in an efficient, effective
and “business like” manner aligning resources with business priorities and making the most of every
taxpayer dollar spent. In a tightening fiscal environment where agencies are called on to do more with
less, and where there is a requirement to balance ongoing change with business-as-usual, developing
business-oriented and people management skills provides an important opportunity to realise
productivity and efficiency gains.
Unique public sector skills. Working effectively in the APS requires a range of unique knowledge
and skills that are unlikely to be developed outside the public sector, and which need to be developed
internally through formal training or on-the-job learning. Exercising authority without the appropriate
knowledge or skills is likely to result in difficulties which could have been easily avoided with the
application of the appropriate expertise.
Ongoing skills gaps. Evidence from consultations and research identified skill gaps across a number
of areas including change management, people management, risk management and strategic thinking.
Progress check: how is the APS going?
Data from the State of the Service Report 2012-13 indicate ongoing skills gaps:
-
In an environment characterised by significant ongoing change, less than one-quarter of APS
agencies believed their change management capability was at the necessary level and agencies
have reported little or no improvement in their change management capability since 2011.
-
There is an opportunity to lift efficiency and effectiveness by improving people management,
with capability reviews and agency self-assessments indicating a requirement to improve
performance management and work assignment / delegation skills.
-
The State of the Service Report noted that “the bulk of productivity improvements available for
organisational effectiveness essentially relate to people and how skilled, motivated, well
managed and led they are”.8
What management expertise gaps and opportunities have been identified?
This refresh confirms the management capabilities identified in the 2012-13 strategy. It is worth
noting that in an environment characterised by transformational change, an emphasis on productivity
and an increased emphasis on working across boundaries, the framework developed in the 2012-13
strategy has been expanded to include new skills critical in this context: planning and managing
change, risk management, programme evaluation, the need to develop expertise in organisational
design and business-oriented expertise.
Table 4 on the next page outlines the management expertise to be developed across the APS.
8
Australian Public Service Commission (2013). State of the Service Report 2012-13, Commonwealth of Australia. Page 12.
21
Decision-making &
judgement
Working with
government
People & organisational
development
Professional public
service skill
Increased prominence in
2014: Personal
responsibility and public
sector accountability
Briefing and responding
to APS decision-makers,
Ministers & Parliament
Coaching and developing
others
Policy development &
implementation
Creating public value
Working with the Minister
Building and leading high
performing teams
Delivery management
Financial management
and budgeting
Developing Cabinet
Submissions
Increased prominence in
2014: Planning and
managing change
Regulatory frameworks
and practices
Project and programme
management in a
complex environment
Appearing before
Parliamentary
Committees
Getting the most out of
diversity
Working with
stakeholders and
jurisdictions9
New in 2014: Business
acumen – purchasing
services for government
Business planning
New in 2014: Programme
evaluation
New in 2014: Designing
government business
models
Performance
management
Increased prominence in
2014:
Risk management
New in 2014:
Organisational design
Table 4: Management expertise to be developed across the APS
Core and foundation skills
What are core and foundation skills and what do they contribute in the current business
context?
Core skills
Core skills are the public sector-specific knowledge and skills that are essential to the public service
institution and of relevance to all public servants. In a fast-paced, complex environment, public
servants need the public sector-specific knowledge and skills that ensure they are able to:
 operate within the frameworks and values expected of the APS
 understand and support government processes
In the 2014 strategy, this skill has been moved from the ‘Working with government’ cluster to the ‘Professional public
service skills’ cluster to better reflect the nature of the skills requirement, which is not limited to working with government.
9
22
 collaborate within and across teams and / or agencies to solve problems
 apply effective public-sector professional skills within their area of expertise to deliver public
value.
Foundation skills
Foundation skills are the essential workplace skills that are relevant to employees at all levels. These
skills underpin core skills and management expertise and are essential for effective operation in an
organisation. Unlike core skills and management expertise, foundation skills are not specific to the
public sector, although they are applied differently in different public sector contexts.
Why develop core and foundation skills?
Improve productivity. As with any organisation, the APS needs to operate in an efficient, effective
and “business like” manner, making the most of every taxpayer dollar spent. In a tightening fiscal
environment where agencies are called on to do more with less, and where there is a requirement to
balance ongoing change with business-as-usual, developing efficient and effective core and
foundation skills provides an important opportunity to realise productivity and efficiency gains.
Unique public sector skills. Working effectively in the APS requires a range of unique knowledge
and skills that are unlikely to be developed outside the public sector, and which need to be developed
internally through formal training or on-the-job learning.
Ongoing skills gaps. Evidence from consultations and research identified skill gaps across a number
of areas including the APS ethical and legal frameworks, an understanding of the Australian
government system, and skills to structure work.
What core skills gaps and opportunities have been identified?
This refresh confirms the relevance of the core skills identified in the 2012-13 strategy. It confirms
that today’s APS needs employees who are responsive to the environment and who have the public
sector-specific knowledge and skills to: operate within the frameworks and values expected of the
APS; understand and support government processes; collaborate within and across teams/agencies to
solve problems; and apply effective public-sector professional skills within their area of expertise to
deliver public value.
Table 5 on the next page outlines the core skills to be developed across the APS. It is worth noting
that in an environment characterised by transformational change and an emphasis on productivity, the
core skills framework identified in the 2012-13 strategy has been expanded to include new skills or to
add prominence to skills that critical in this context: developing business cases, risk management,
dealing with change, working within diversity and performance management.
23
Applying ethical & legal
frameworks
Understanding
government
Working within &
across teams
Professional public
service skills
APS ethics and values
The role of the APS
APS people management
Policy
APS frameworks
Understanding
parliamentary processes
Increased prominence in
2014: Performance
management
Delivery
APS decision-making &
risk
Understanding legislative
processes
Cross-agency working
Regulatory
Procurement essentials
Responding to the
Minister’s office
Increased prominence in
2014: Dealing with
change
Working with
stakeholders10
Contract management
Working in teams
New in 2014: Developing
a business case for
government
Increased prominence in
2014 – Risk management
Increased prominence in
2014: Working with
diversity
Table 5: Core skills to be developed across the APS
What foundation skills gaps and opportunities have been identified?
The foundation skills gaps and opportunities identified in this strategy remain consistent with those
previously identified in the 2012-13 strategy:
 Structuring work. In today’s fast-paced environment, it becomes even more critical for public
servants to adopt more efficient and structured methods of working. This means having the skills
to decompose a task into its constituent elements, planning and prioritising.
 Compelling communication. Communication skills are a key part of transacting business. In the
APS, employees require the ability to present an argument clearly, concisely and in a compelling
manner, going to the heart of the issue with speed and clarity.
 Building relationships and engagement. Building relationships and engaging in meaningful
consultation with citizens and stakeholder groups and working across teams, agencies and
jurisdictions goes to the heart of public service work and are critical foundation skills across the
APS.
 Analytical thinking. Applying analytical thinking is a critical part of work. This means having the
skills to define a problem, collect relevant data, identify bias in evidence, evaluate evidence, weigh
up arguments and confirm whether the evidence supports a particular conclusion.
In 2014 this skill has been moved from the ‘Understanding government’ cluster to the ‘Professional public service skills’
cluster to better reflect the nature of the skills requirement, which involves working effectively with a range of stakeholders.
10
24
What are the development priorities for 2014-15 and 2015-16?
Leadership practice priorities
Progress on existing leadership priorities
Since late 2011, the Strategic Centre has been delivering an approach to leadership development
consistent with this strategy. Early indications from programme evaluations indicate this new
approach is proving effective in supporting the development of the leadership practices and
behaviours required in an environment characterised by complex challenges that cut across agency
boundaries.
As the external environment and business drivers impacting the APS continue to evolve, small
adjustments are being made to our approach to ensure programmes develop the leadership practices
that are critical to succeed in our environment – for example this iteration of the strategy incorporates
additional practices that support transformational change and improved productivity.
Progress on high potential programmes
High potential programmes aim to build the APS’s bench strength of highly capable leaders prepared
to take on more complex roles. Progress to date includes:
 SES Band 3 talent development programme. This programme is scheduled to conclude in 201411.
The business need for another programme will be re-assessed in the future.
 SES Band 2 talent development programme. This programme concluded in 201311. The business
need for another programme will be re-assessed in the future.
 SES Band 1 talent development programme. This programme is a current business priority and is
scheduled to be offered in 2014.
Progress on transition to role and experienced in role leadership programmes
Transition to role programmes aim to support new SES to develop their leadership capability as they
learn to survive, and ultimately thrive in their senior role. Experienced in role programmes offer
leadership development to all SES, supporting them to develop the leadership practice needed to assist
the APS to succeed in an environment of transformational change. Progress to date includes:
 SES Orientation (transition). This programme is regularly offered to new SES.
 SES Band 1 leadership programme. This programme is regularly offered.
 SES Band 2 leadership programme. This programme is regularly offered.
Corporate Leadership Council research suggests around 8% of employees in a cohort are high potential”. The Band 2 and
Band 3 programmes have currently exceeded their target of reaching 8% of their respective cohorts.
11
25
 SES Band 3 leadership programme. This programme is a current business priority and will be
offered from mid-2014.
Leadership priorities for development in 2014-15 and 2015-16
In 2014-16, the Executive Level 2 group has been selected as a priority for leadership development.
This group has been selected as a priority as the feeder group to the SES and a group with wide
organisational reach that influences upwards and downwards, directly working with a large number of
employees. Focusing on this group as a priority aims to foster a high performance culture, and embed
contemporary leadership practice across the APS.
In 2015-16, the Strategic Centre’s focus will expand to examine the viability of providing talent
development for early career public servants. This has been selected as a priority to ensure a
longer-term bench strength of talented public servants and to shift to a long-term view of leadership
development.
Table 6 outlines the Strategic Centre’s leadership development priorities from 2014-16, including a
recognition that the Strategic Centre is responsible for the design and development of programmes
addressing new priorities while simultaneously delivering and continuously improving programmes
developed pre 2014.
2014-15
Deliver and
continuously improve
Design and develop
SES Orientation
programme
Executive Level 2 talent
development
programme
Band 1 and Band 3 talent
development
programmes
Executive Level 2
leadership programme
2015-16
Deliver and
continuously improve
Programmes designed
and developed
in 2011-12, 2012-13,
2013-14 and 2014-15
Design and develop
Executive level 2
transition to role
programme
Early career talent
development
programme
Band 1, 2 and 3
leadership programmes
Table 6: Leadership development priorities 2014-15 and 2015-16
Management expertise, core and foundation skills priorities
A fresh approach to management expertise, core skills and foundation skills development
In 2013, the Strategic Centre began work to test a new approach for management and core skills
development. Under the new approach, efficiencies are being created through a collective investment
in the development of high quality, contemporary learning products required by all agencies. A
central philosophy of the approach is that the APS should seek to “build once, use many times”.
The new approach follows a standard process. A learning design standard is developed for each
priority, outlining the APS’s learning need and articulating a contemporary approach for developing
the required skills. Subject to any copyright restrictions, where an existing APS programme satisfies
the learning design it will be adapted into learning materials for use by agencies. Where there is no
26
existing APS programme, a provider is engaged to develop learning materials with all intellectual
property to be owned by the APS. The learning materials are available to all APS agencies at no cost,
and are able to be customised to suit the agency’s specific business environment.
There are a range of delivery options available to agencies. Agencies may use their own trainers to
deliver the programmes; they may engage the services of a provider that has been quality assured by
the Australian Public Service Commission; or, employees may attend a programme run at the
Australian Public Service Commission on a fee-for-service basis.
Progress on existing management expertise priorities
The Strategic Centre has made significant progress on progressing management expertise priorities,
including confirming the viability and utility of the approach outlined above. It should be noted that
there has been some variation from the priorities identified in the APS Leadership and Core Skills
Strategy 2012-13, for example change management programmes were brought forward in recognition
of the importance of building management expertise in this area in the current business environment.
All changes in priority have been endorsed by the Secretaries Board.
Completed management expertise priorities
For the following priorities, learning design standards and associated learning materials are available
for agency use and facilitators have been quality assured:
People and organisational development

Coaching and developing others

Performance management
Management expertise priorities currently underway
For the following priorities, learning materials are due for progressive release to agencies from
July-September 2014 and facilitators are being quality assured to present this learning material for
agencies:
Working with government
 Briefing and responding to APS decision-makers, Ministers & Parliament
 Working with the Minister
 Developing Cabinet Submissions
 Appearing before Parliamentary committees
People and organisational development
 Building and leading high performing teams
 Planning and managing change
 Getting the most out of diversity
27
Management expertise priorities for development in 2014-15 and 2015-16
Table 7 outlines the Strategic Centre’s management expertise priorities from 2014-16, including a
recognition that the Strategic Centre is responsible for the design and development of programmes
addressing new priorities while simultaneously delivering and continuously improving programmes
developed pre 2014.
2014-15
2015-16
Deliver and
continuously improve
Design and develop
People and
organisational
development
Decision-making and
judgement
Coaching and developing
others
Performance
management
Building & leading high
performing teams
Planning and managing
change
Getting the most out of
diversity
Working with
government
Briefing and responding
to APS
decision-makers,
Ministers &
Parliament
Designing government
business models
Deliver and
continuously improve
Programmes designed
and developed in
2013-14 and 2014-15
Business acumen –
purchasing services for
government
Design and develop
Decision-making and
judgement
Financial management
and budgeting
Programme and project
management
Risk management
Personal responsibility
and public sector
accountability
Creating public value
Professional public
service skills
Delivery management
Programme evaluation
Working with
stakeholders and
jurisdictions
Professional public
service skills
Policy development and
implementation
Regulatory frameworks
and practices
Working with the Minister
Developing Cabinet
Submissions
Appearing before
Parliamentary
committees
People and
organisational
development
Organisational design
People and
organisational
development
Business planning
Table 7: Management expertise development priorities 2014-15 and 2015-16
28
Progress on existing core and foundation skills priorities
The Strategic Centre has made significant progress on progressing core and foundation skills
priorities, with some variations to the priorities identified in the APS Leadership and Core Skills
Strategy 2012-13 approved by the Secretaries Board due to urgent business need.
Completed core and foundation skills priorities
For the following priorities, learning design standards and associated learning materials are available
for agency use and facilitators have been quality assured:
Applying ethical and legal frameworks

APS ethics and values
Working within and across teams

Performance management
Foundation skills

Structuring work
Core and foundation skills priorities currently underway
For the following priorities, learning materials are due for progressive release to agencies from
July-September 2014 and facilitators are being quality assured to present this learning material for
agencies:
Understanding government

Developed as a single programme: the role of the APS, understanding parliamentary
processes, understanding legislative processes
Working within and across teams

Dealing with change

Working in teams

Working with diversity
Foundation skills

Compelling communications

Building relationships and engagement
Core skills priorities for development in 2014-15 and 2015-16
Table 8 on the next page outlines the Strategic Centre’s core and foundation skills priorities from
2014-16, including a recognition that the Strategic Centre is responsible for the design and
development of programmes addressing new priorities while simultaneously delivering and
continuously improving programmes developed pre 2014.
29
2014-15
2015-16
Deliver and
continuously improve
Design and develop
Applying ethical and
legal frameworks
Working within and
across teams
APS ethics and values
Understanding
government
The role of the APS,
understanding
parliamentary
processes and
understanding
legislative processes
Cross-agency working
Deliver and
continuously improve
Programmes designed
and developed in
2013-14 and 2014-15
Applying ethical and
legal frameworks
APS frameworks
APS decision-making and
risk
APS risk management
Design and develop
Working within and
across teams
APS people management
Applying ethical and
legal frameworks
APS procurement
essentials
APS contract
management
Responding to the
Minister’s office
Working within and
across teams
Performance
management
Dealing with change
Working in teams
Professional public
service skills
Delivery
Working with
stakeholders
Working with diversity
Developing a business
case for government
Foundation skills
Foundation skills
Structuring work
Professional public
service skills
Policy development and
implementation
Regulation
Analytical thinking
Compelling
communications
Building relationships and
engagement
Table 8: Core skills development priorities 2014-15 and 2015-16
30
How will these capabilities be developed?
Development in practice: the differences between leadership and expertise
development
Leadership and management: practiced in tandem, developed differently
In the workplace, individuals practice leadership and management and apply their skills in tandem.
For example, an individual might move fluidly between using their authority (management),
motivating their team towards an objective (leadership) and applying their technical skills. Although
they are practiced in tandem, the approach for developing leadership capability is different from
developing foundation, core and management (expertise) skills.
Leadership development is self-transformative learning that is focused on supporting an individual to
develop and consciously apply different practices and default behaviours. Transforming an
individual’s daily leadership practices requires a shift in an individual’s self-concept of themselves as
a leader and of the work of leadership. Achieving this shift requires sustained development that spans
multiple interventions, offers ongoing opportunities for practice and experimentation, and provides for
ongoing reflection.
By contrast, management expertise, core and foundation skills development is primarily concerned
with the development of knowledge and skills that can be applied to workplace tasks.
Development principles
Although the development of leadership capability is different to the development of management
expertise and core skills, the Strategic Centre recognises that there are some common principles that
should be applied to both forms of development to ensure better practice and encourage consistency.
All development, including leadership, management, core and foundation skills development will:
 be based on adult learning approaches
 incorporate opportunities to reinforce learning over time using a range of interventions
 balance opportunities for on-the-job learning, peer-based learning and classroom learning, using
the principles in the 70-20-10 model
 draw appropriately on the Knowing Doing Being Framework (see Figure 2 on next page)
 be driven by well-defined models with a strong evidence base
 represent value for money.
Developing leadership practice
The following principles guide leadership development, which is most effective when:
 Senior leaders participate in leadership development and role model the desired culture and
behaviours
31
 A range of learning approaches are used, including experiential and reflective approaches e.g.
case-in-point, coaching, shadowing
 Delivered over a period of time with multiple interventions aligned with development needs
 Driven by a well-defined leadership model – Knowing, Doing, Being.
Appendix C contains the leadership development principles endorsed by the Secretaries Board as a
compact between learners, the APSC, Secretaries and agency heads.
Learning from implementation to date
 Manager support: is critical to success –supporting time away from the office and supporting
experimentation with different approaches.
 Leaders developing leaders: using previous participants to support leadership development fosters
a genuine camaraderie and ‘community’ across the system.
 Need for a system-wide perspective: effective development relies on the Strategic Centre,
Secretaries and agency heads, agencies, supervisors and individual learners providing consistent
messaging, role-modelling and demonstrating the importance of ongoing development (see next
page).
Knowing Doing Being Development Framework in context
In a leadership development context, the framework guides how capability is most effectively
developed. That is, leadership capability is developed by building knowledge, through practice in
real situations, and over time this leads to an evolution in an individual’s self-concept as a leader.
Figure 2: Knowing Doing Being Development Framework
In addition, in management and core skills the framework describes the content to be learnt
(knowledge), the personal attributes needed to successfully apply that knowledge (being) and the
observable behaviours resulting from using those skills in the workplace (doing).
Developing management expertise, and core and foundation skills
Principles guiding management, core and foundation skills development require that learning:
 Be designed using a collaborative APS-wide process
 Provide agencies the flexibility to tailor and contextualise, while maintaining the quality of the
programme and the consistency of the skill development across the APS
 Include multiple delivery options and methods, including e-learning and self-paced options (where
appropriate) and face-to-face delivery by an agency trainer or by the APSC
32
 Be available for use by all APS agencies – built once, used many times – and released to agencies
‘delivery ready’
Learning from implementation to date
 Collaboration: working with agency learning and development practitioners and leveraging
collective knowledge and resources has resulted in shared understanding, increased cooperation
and significant cost savings.
 Learning design standards are critical: they clearly define the business need, the learning that can
contribute to the solution, and what the solution involves in detail before going to market.
 Learning design standards have application beyond identified priorities: agencies with specific
educative responsibilities have worked with the Strategic Centre and used the learning design
standard methodology to fulfil their responsibilities, further embedding the methodology.
Managers as developers of people
Managers who are developers of people have a significant ‘capability multiplier effect’. Across all
forms of development – leadership, management skills, core skills and foundation skills – managers
are the key factor influencing the extent to which their teams engage in ongoing development,
practice reflection, engage in continuous learning and strive for continuous improvement. Given their
significant influence, managers are the ‘glue’ across all forms of development, enabling changes in
behaviour, practice, and skill to “stick”.
Why managers shape culture and capability
Managers are leaders who have a powerful influence on culture: Research12 has found that social
learning in the workplace means manager behaviour is frequently role-modelled, and this is a
powerful means of transmitting values, attitudes, patterns of behaviour and knowledge.
Managers play a key role mobilising people and are enablers of high performance: Managers are
often at the intersection between the strategic and operational. They play a crucial role balancing
change and stability, generating creative alternatives to challenges and enabling performance.13
Managers who are learners and who coach foster engagement: A 2009 qualitative case study
found that managers who are able to facilitate learning are better able to build trust and engagement
with their staff.14
12
Rich (1997); Ibarra (1999); Jarvis (2010); Kenny et al (2003) in Warhurst, R. (2011), Role modelling in manager
development: learning that which cannot be taught, “Journal of European Industrial Training”, Vol 35, No 9.
13
Costanzo, L. & Tzoumpa, V. (2008), Enhancing organisational learning in teams: has the middle manager got a role?,
“Team performance management”, Vol 14, Issue 3/4.
Ladyshewsky, R.K. (2009), The manager as coach as a driver of organizational development, “Leadership &
Organization Development Journal, Vol 31, No 4, pp 301.
14
33
How will progress against this strategy be evaluated?
Evaluation of the strategy
The effectiveness of this strategy will be assessed as part of a broader evaluation of the Strategic
Centre’s operations, which is scheduled to commence at the end of the Strategic Centre’s third year of
funding (June 2014). The strategy will be evaluated at two levels:
 Activity. As a key activity undertaken by the Strategic Centre, the strategy will be assessed at the
activity level (assessing what has been delivered).
 Impact. The impact of the strategy in the short and medium-term, including its impact in fostering
a collective agreement on APS development priorities and its effectiveness in creating a common
understanding of the practice of leadership in the APS.
The approach for evaluating the Strategic Centre’s effectiveness (including the effectiveness of its
strategy work as one component of the Strategic Centre’s programme) is shown in Figure 3 below.
2. Programs
• High potential programs
• Leadership, management, core
skills
3. System
• Quality assurance, central
brokerage
• Thought leadership, support, advice
The impact of the strategy in
fostering a new concept of
leadership across the APS.
The impact of programs in
supporting behavioural shifts
and building APS-relevant skills.
The impact of the Strategic
Centre in improving the efficiency
and effectiveness of APS L&D.
Institutional objectives
Enhanced
capability of APS
leaders (current
and future)
Enhanced
core skills
of the APS
workforce
Human
capital LLD
objectives
Efficient and
effective leader
and core skills
development
system
Enhanced
agency LLD
performance
Other institutional change levers
1. Strategy
Evaluation of the
Strategic Centre’s contribution
to human capital objectives
Evaluation of the impact
of Strategic Centre
activities
Human capital levers (includes L&D)
Evaluation of the
Strategic Centre’s activities
Serves the
government
of the day
Delivers outcomes
for citizens
Operates as
One APS to
deliver outcomes
Operates efficiently,
effectively and
ethically
Figure 3: Methodology for evaluating the Strategic Centre's effectiveness, including evaluating its strategy work
As shown in Figure 3 this strategy, together with other work undertaken by the Strategic Centre, aims
to contribute to towards four human capital leadership, learning and development objectives. The
Strategic Centre’s capability development activities are not the sole contributor towards these
objectives. Significant contributions towards these objectives are also made by a broad range of other
activities, including (but not limited to) employee recruitment, organisational planning and workforce
planning.
Evaluation of learning programmes
In addition to evaluating the strategy, all programmes resulting from this strategy will be evaluated
using a standardised, rigorous evaluation framework to demonstrate the impact of programmes on
agency business outcomes.
The framework draws on a range of learning evaluation approaches, including Kirkpatrick’s model,
and provides a practical, pragmatic approach to programme evaluation. The key elements of the
programme evaluation framework are shown in Appendix D.
34
Appendix A:
A note on the nature of strategy
Strategy is a high-level, long-term plan to achieve a set of objectives. Strategy assesses the current
state, defines the desired future state and allocates resources in order to progress towards the planned
future state.
Learning and development strategy articulates the capabilities, skills or competencies required in a
sustainable and successful workforce, and sets out approaches for developing the identified
capabilities and skills within finite resources.15
Effective learning and development strategy is connected to an organisation’s business: it analyses
current or future changes in the organisation’s business environment in order to identify required
workforce capabilities and prioritise resources allocation to build those capabilities.
Ideally learning and development strategy is aligned with a broader human capital plan, which
identifies a range of interventions using multiple human capital levers (for example recruitment,
performance management, employment conditions) to drive organisational performance.
15
CIPD factsheet, Learning and Development Strategy, revised February 2014. Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hrresources/factsheets/learning-talent-development-strategy.aspx
35
Appendix B:
Leadership practices that support a contemporary institution
This strategy argues that in the APS, leadership is a practice that can and should occur at all levels.
There are a range of leadership practices that all APS employees can actively display, including:
 Scanning the horizon to anticipate the future, looking up, out and ahead rather than being
consumed by the here and now. Practices that support this include:

Perspective taking, using different lenses, and viewing patterns ‘as if from a balcony’ to see
a context for change or to create one;

Collecting data and exploring multiple possible interpretations before diagnosing a situation
and considering a course of action; and

Testing assumptions about what needs to happen before committing to action.

Using rich questioning to seek detail and information from others in order to understand a
situation or issue.
 Making careful observations of situations and relationships, seeking to understand the underlying
dynamics, and using these to guide actions
 Taking the initiative to define problems and create options for resolution, rather than expecting to
be directed to do so by senior management
 Having the moral courage to speak out when observing internal contradictions, unethical
activities or when risks associated with particular courses of action have been unheeded.
 Exercising independent judgment by staying true to a course of action and not being swayed by
the potentially erroneous attitudes and beliefs of others.
36
Appendix C:
A compact between learners, the APSC, Secretaries and agency
heads
 Leadership learning is a priority of the APS, acknowledged as a valued and important contributor
to a productive, progressive, innovative and engaged APS which will withstand current and future
challenges:

Developing leadership capability requires a sustained and longer term development process
incorporating knowledge, behaviours and personal characteristics (knowing, doing, being).
 Secretaries and agency heads play a critical role in shaping the leadership of the APS, through
their roles as:

The primary creator of a learning-culture, particularly through the alignment of stated beliefs
and displayed behaviour.

An advocate for their employees engaging in leadership development, whether by mentoring,
supporting on-the-job learning, or simply checking in.

A leadership role model and programme contributor, sharing their insights, lessons learned
and currently being learned, with participants who may be on a similar journey.
 APS development offerings require a shared commitment and undertaking, particularly by
individuals themselves, and also by their manager, their agency, and the Australian Public Service
Commission. In practical terms:

The Australian Public Service Commission through the Strategic Centre for Leadership,
Learning and Development confirms its commitment to undertake comprehensive evaluation
of programme offerings and to ensuring the quality of whole-of-APS programmes.

In relation to leadership development, Secretaries and agency heads will reinforce their
expectations regarding the high priority attached to leadership development and continuous
learning.
37
Appendix D:
Strategic Centre learning programme evaluation framework
What is evaluated?
Data collection method
Which programmes will
be evaluated to this
level?
How will the data be
used?
Learner reaction:
evaluates how well was
the programme delivered
and learner satisfaction.
Survey at the end of each
module and the end of
entire programme.
All programmes
1. To improve programme
design, learning
materials, learning
methods and target
audience
For pilot programmes:
Feedback from facilitators
/ observers
Learning: evaluates
whether learning took
place.
1. Pre-programme survey
Behaviour: evaluates
where the participants are
applying learning on-thejob.
Interview or survey with:
Business objectives:
evaluates whether the
programme delivered on
its business objectives
and provided value for
money.
2. To improve delivery
3. To assist in
programme targeting
2. Post-learning survey
(end of module and
end of programme)
1. the participant, and
2. the participant’s
manager.
Agency and employee
surveys.
All pilot, high cost or
priority programmes. For
other programmes, when
the evaluation data
indicates a requirement
To confirm transfer of
learning or identify
changes to increase
impact and to confirm
programme is delivering
required behavioural
changes
All pilot programmes, and
every 12-18 months for
high cost or high priority
programmes
To confirm programme is
delivering the intended
outcomes and providing
value for money
Table 9: Strategic Centre learning programme evaluation framework
38