Ethos Issue 6, Jul 2009

Leadership at a Time of Crisis
Peter Shergold

Civil service is a tough job. It is not easy to give advice fearlessly at a time of crisis when the political stakes are rising, or to deliver policy decisions uncomplainingly when that advice has not been accepted. It takes a clear understanding of the foundations of democratic government if one is to serve faithfully elected officials with whose views one might privately disagree.

The ability of civil service leaders to shape public policy comes at a personal cost. To a considerable extent, their influence is wielded behind closed doors. Their public voice needs to be carefully modulated. It requires leaders able to serve successive ministers with equal dedication. For all these reasons, the civil service is not a job for everyone.

Yet, at moments of crisis—when the articulation of national interest will often be contested, but when the failure to act decisively will always prove fatal—civil service has its distinctive rewards. It is a job that has meaning and purpose. It involves the provision of public value, not shareholder gain, with benefits delivered to citizens, not consumers. How well it is done affects, to a lesser or greater extent, the future well-being of society. At a time of crisis, the burdens of responsibility are heavy but the opportunities for satisfaction are greater still.

Peter Shergold is the Macquarie Group Foundation Professor at the Centre for Social Impact in Australia. From 1988 to 2008, he was a senior public servant in the Australian Public Service, including being the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from 2003 to 2008. He is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Civil Service College, Singapore.

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