The 2010 Public Sector Leadership Awards advisory committee was charged with an important task. Composed of senior public sector leaders, government advisors and past award winners, the committee was responsible for evaluating the most ground-breaking public sector projects from the past year and identifying the most innovative and well-led of those initiatives.
This year’s advisory committee members brought a broad and diverse perspective to the judging table. Leveraging their public sector, not-for-profit and private enterprise experience, they identified and rewarded the projects that demonstrated leadership. All agree that this year’s initiatives demonstrate a passion to address serious public and not-for-profit challenges and to develop new solutions from which all Canadians can benefit.
Recognizing Canadian public sector innovation
Paul Macmillan, National Public Sector Industry Leader at Deloitte, feels that innovation is a requirement in today’s public sector environment. As he says: “It’s important that Canadians take note of the innovation in the public sector and support it, because without innovation, our governments will struggle to meet their expectations. Innovation brings a certain degree of risk and requires a tolerance for mistakes. The challenge in the public sector is to manage that risk and be adept at identifying errors and correcting them when they occur.”
“This year’s nominees showed an openness to new ideas and approaches, a willingness to learn from others and a commitment to implementing change. It was these qualities that helped their organizations innovate, understand what citizens were looking for and modify service delivery to address their needs,” Macmillan notes.
Shelly Jamieson, Secretary of Cabinet and Head of the Ontario Public Service Executive for the Government of Ontario, applauded the fresh thinking employed by nominees. “I was looking for bold and new ideas – things that hadn’t been done before – and I saw that in this year’s submissions,” says Jamieson. “We’re all out to provide service to the public and the public is looking for new ways to receive services from us. If the public sector can’t figure out how to take advantage of new communication opportunities – like social media, for example – we will be missing an opportunity to connect with our audience.”
Jamieson is also interested in the degree to which these innovations could be replicated – both within the organization and within other public sector settings across the country. “By sharing our successes, we can learn from each other and ensure that we’re taking advantage of the most innovative technologies and approaches at our disposal.”
The high level of innovation also impressed the Honourable Elinor Caplan, CEO of Canada Strategies Inc. “All of the submissions contained the ingredients I was looking for: innovation, managed risk and a commitment to customer service,” she says. “Too often, public sector workers become risk-averse and afraid to try something without specific approval. But innovation requires leadership, and that is why awards like this are so important. These awards recognize leaders, and stimulate others to encourage and support innovation within their organizations.”
Jill Birch, Principal and National Capability Lead, Market Development, at Knightsbridge, says that innovation is especially important in the public sector. “Public sector funds are being curtailed, so there’s a need for creativity and innovation to find efficiencies and a new way to solve problems,” she explains.
Birch notes the use of both innovative project methodologies and innovative technologies in this year’s submissions. “What I saw were excellent examples of innovation – both in soft-skills and in technology. Nominees dug deep to shape new programs, align staff around them and create unity within the organization. They also showed an openness and willingness to innovate by using new technologies. Institutions need to openly embrace technology platforms if they want to grow and serve their constituents – both urban and rural – in new ways.”
Demonstrating vision and foresight
2010 committee members agree that the best public sector leaders are those who can not only tackle existing problems, but also anticipate and address future challenges.
“One of the responsibilities of a public servant is to deal with the immediate while developing policies that address short, medium and longer-term problems,” explains Bruce Archibald, President of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “Along with having that vision, public sector leaders need to effectively communicate that direction, obtain buy-in and then execute on it with a high service standard.”
“I was happy to see submissions that demonstrated a great deal of foresight and featured leaders who could anticipate rather than react,” says Archibald. “These individuals anticipated upcoming challenges, identified upcoming opportunities and came up with new ways of doing business to address them.”
Daniel Watson, Deputy Minister, Western Economic Diversification Canada, was impressed most by the number of nominees addressing critically important public service issues. “In the public sector, it’s important to be both responsive and visionary. You need to respond to the needs of the public, the needs of elected officials and the realities of the systems that deliver public services and goods, but you also need to have a vision for where those things can – and should – migrate over time,” he says.
“It was therefore very encouraging to see so many organizations tackling the ‘wicked’ problems of today and tomorrow. These are problems that are enormous in scope, are enormously complicated and matter enormously to Canadians. Getting these problems wrong makes us a worse country, and getting them right makes us a better country. In many cases, we saw individuals actively tackling these wicked problems, making significant progress on them and achieving success.”
Collaborating to develop a new approach
Committee members also agreed that, to succeed, a public sector organization must collaborate with others. “It was clear that nominees weren’t simply sitting in ivory towers,” says Phil Brown, General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration at the City of Toronto. “These projects succeeded and achieved excellence because the nominees went the extra mile to involve stakeholders and the community. Some of the nominees faced standard problems, but the way in which they engaged the community, spent time with them and listened to their needs made all of the difference and led to truly remarkable projects and outcomes.”
Barry Pervin, Assistant Deputy Minister, Instruction and Leadership Development Division, Ontario Ministry of Education, agrees. “What most impressed me about the submissions was the high degree of community engagement. A number of nominees worked actively with the community, listened to their needs, enlisted their support and, in turn, met a societal need.”
“Most Canadians are unaware of the innovative, collaborative work that’s being done in the public sector. It’s important to inform the public about these excellent projects and convey that we care about good service and what citizens want, and are setting a high standard for all of us to shoot for.”
Leading by example
Innovation and collaboration can struggle to get off the ground without strong leadership and dedication. The advisory committee noted that the 2010 nominees demonstrated both effective leadership and a commitment to project success.
“In today’s environment, Canadian public sector organizations recognize the need to go beyond their traditionally bureaucratic nature and to focus on customer service, innovation and productivity. But that requires the example of leaders, such as those being recognized in these awards,” said IPAC’s interim CEO, Michael Fenn. “In the public sector, we are often better at identifying risks and threats than we are at pursuing opportunities. Recognized public sector leaders foster innovation and client-focus, adopt a strategic approach, and anticipate emerging issues.”
This emphasis on leadership was echoed by Louise Paul, CEO of the Children’s Treatment Network of Simcoe York. “A good leader identifies problems, seizes opportunities and addresses issues in a new way,” Paul says. “Among this year’s nominees, I saw people who were mobilizing their staff and bringing together resources to address both new and existing problems in a creative fashion. It’s these public sector leaders who are driving true system change – new policy directions, programs and services that are improving delivery systems for communities and citizens.”
She adds: “Today’s public sector leaders face budget constraints and need to be fiscally responsible while still providing effective services. That takes leadership, commitment and a clear vision. By acknowledging successful achievements and sharing innovative approaches, we can help other leaders replicate these successes and collaborate to address shared problems.”
Maureen Hennessy, CEO of Hennessy Consulting, also remarks on the benefits of recognizing successful public sector leadership. “Canadians have humility, but the nominees showed what is clearly greatness at the local, provincial and national levels,” says Hennessy. “Today’s public sector leaders are setting the benchmarks for public sector excellence and sharing the knowledge needed to develop new, world-class initiatives. More often than not, they’re doing that with less money and fewer resources, which makes their accomplishments even more noteworthy.”
Hennessy also reflected on the pride felt by the advisory committee. “I was delighted and honoured to be part of the committee and it was very rewarding to see all of the brilliance being shared.”
Phil Brown agrees: “You could sense the passion, dedication and commitment to pride coming from the entrants. Everyone was proud of what they had accomplished and it reminded me of how proud I am to work in the public sector with such a professional and innovative group of people.”