Champions of Change
Great public administration
requires a continuous search for positive change
opportunities. An organization unwilling to accept the reality
that even a brand-new system installed 10 minutes ago may soon
need updating or tweaking will not be a good steward of
taxpayer money. The circumstances all around us in public
service are the subject of evolution and sometimes, as in the
case of tax-cutting initiatives, revolution.
The notion that change is
essential to success in public service crashes headlong into
the walls which government officials tend to construct
(perhaps without a building permit) around their silos to
retard or put off the day when change will be necessary.
Some of these silos confuse
rules or labor agreement provisions with concepts such as
property rights, causing many employees to assume they
actually own their jobs as a matter of personal property. This
job ownership concept is brought to us by important Supreme
Court decisions. However, over the decades trappings have been
added, which make corrective action very difficult when
employees fail to perform or behave properly.
Most change-retarders may be
found by simply looking at an organization chart. The many
divisions, departments, bureaus and offices which may be
depicted on a chart each represent separation instead of
integration. Whether these bureaucratic dynamics were the
product of accidental accretion over the years or a more
sinister, deliberate effort at preservation of the status quo,
I leave it up to each of the HR Doctors readers to consider
for themselves.
The imperative for change
crashes headlong into the bureaucratic tendency to avoid
change. The resultant crash is never pretty. Needed change may
be put off, only to pop up later in a much more expensive,
untimely and crisis-driven way. It may also be force-fed into
the organization by leaders who leave in their authoritative
wake an organization in fear and in near- clinical depression.
Forced change creates uncertainty, and uncertainty harms the
taxpayers in the short run as well as the long run.
The greatest leaders learned
early in their careers, usually with a mentor to help them,
that if they want to become powerful they must learn to
control uncertainty. They must learn to create an environment
in which change is not feared, but rather is welcomed.
Unfortunately, many
government leaders, elected officials included, are not up to
the task. They may articulate a strong vision but then ram it
down peoples throats in ways which come across like having a
root canal without Novocaine.
Such people are ultimately
headed for change in their own lives when they are fired,
tossed out of office or become helpless administrative eunuchs
unable to make anything happen in the bureaucracy other than
providing daily stimulation for people to plan their farewell
parties.
Other leaders may seize on a
particular single-purpose vision, create the environment in
which that vision can become real and then immediately pack
their bags and move on. They dont stay long enough for what
can often be the very hard day-to-day task of making the
vision come to life and resolving the many unanticipated
consequences that frequently result from major change.
Some leaders may recognize
the need for change but dont know how to make it happen in a
successful way. Some may have the vision and understand the
process of change, but they may be afraid to act, fearing that
their friends, who pay constant lip service to support, will
suddenly disappear. The leader marches out front and then
turns around to find that his friends have suddenly all had
compelling lunch appointments and can no longer be present at
key moments when support is needed most.
On the other hand, for a
product vendor such as those who sell automation products and
systems, these difficult and sometimes chaotic situations
create great opportunities. Those who recognize change but
dont know how to make it happen or are afraid of it often hit
upon the solution of just hiring a consultant to manage the
process at a huge cost. That way, the consultant can be blamed
mercilessly when things go wrong. But the wisdom of the leader
will be trumpeted if everything goes well. Only slight and
occasional complaining may be heard inside the bowels of the
finance department when the invoices from the vendor are
paid.
Having bashed vendors and
consultants somewhat, the HR Doctor must point out that,
increasingly, the leadership of organizations, including HR
leadership, will be outsourced in the future to consultants
and advisors like (surprise!) the HR Doctor.
Over time, governments will
realize that the need to have separate Directors of
Something, as well as assistant directors and others in every
city and county, may not really require the services of an
employee but rather to an outside strategic
advisor/leader.
Everything said in this
article so far has excluded one absolutely essential component
for the imperative of change to be successfully met. That
critical component is an internal Champion of Change. The
champion, one would think, should be the elected head of
government, or the appointed city or county manager or
superintendent of schools. It may be a department head. It may
be some bright, energetic, professional like the HR Daughter
Elyse, who can articulate an idea that hadnt been thought of
before.
In an organization where the
champion is not appreciated and supported, meaningful changes
will not take place. The organization and the tax payers will
suffer as a result and services will not be all that they
could have been. The champion will eventually become so
frustrated that a new ink cartridge will be placed in their
home computer printer to crank out updated resumes.
In the positive environment,
which should and could be created and nurtured by the top
leaders, this need not happen. In fact, a great leader is
marked by creating and encouraging change and by being the
mentor of those who propose innovative ideas. The best
champion of change is a mentor as well as a passionate and
articulate predictor of what could be in the future. It is a
person who reduces uncertainty while, ironically, encouraging
innovation. That is a very difficult balance but it is a
career-making opportunity especially for new colleagues in
public service.
Learn to control
uncertainty, learn the value of being a champion and of
encouraging others to sign on to your vision of what the
future might look like.
Phil
Rosenberg The HR Doctor www.hrdr.net
P.S.: The same principles
above, mixed with mentoring and an innovation imperative, work
brilliantly in supercharging your personal life your real
life as well as you career! Give them a try with your
spouse, your children and even your dog!
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