Leadership for a high performing civil service
Towards senior civil service systems in OECD countries
Public service leaders – senior civil servants who lead and improve major government
functions – are at the heart of government effectiveness. They translate political
direction into the policies and programmes that keep citizens healthy, safe, and economically
productive. In order to do so, however, they need to have both the right skills and
institutional support to deploy them effectively. This paper summarises insights from
a recently completed project that addressed this challenge. First, the paper identifies
four leadership capabilities that are necessary to respond to complex policy challenges:
values-based leadership, open inclusion, organisational stewardship, and networked
collaboration. Second, the paper outlines a model for assessing senior civil service
systems, i.e. the policies, processes and tools needed to develop these capabilities
and support leaders in using them. The paper concludes with recommendations to help
governments take a systematic approach to the development and management of their
public service leaders.
Published on September 23, 2020Also available in: French
In series:OECD Working Papers on Public Governanceview more titles