Leading Questions

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Engaging with risk as a civil servant – Stephanie Foster Apr 21, 2022

Show notes

“I’m really kind of glad I didn’t know all the rules because if I’d stuck to the rules, we would never have done it.”

Stephanie Foster had been in defence for 23 years when she volunteered to take responsibility for a floundering AUS$1bn stimulus package for local government. Despite facing public criticism over the scheme that she feared might end her career, she says breaking the rules – albeit unknowingly – helped her team deliver 1,000 projects across Australia.

Now deputy secretary governance, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and head of reform for the Australian Public Service, Stephanie also talks of the mighty challenge of delivering the Foster Report in response to an alleged sexual assault in Parliament House, against a politically-charged backdrop and under intense media scrutiny.

Looking back at her long career, what’s clear is that she has become a leader formed of the qualities she admired in her mentors – one who isn’t afraid to be afraid, and who is perfectly imperfect.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adjusting government official's leadership styles to fit the grain of the organisation – Baroness Minouche Shafik Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

“You have to flex your leadership and you don’t really know how to do that until you’ve really understood the culture of the organisation.”

Minouche Shafik was the youngest ever vice president of the World Bank. In 2008, she became permanent secretary of the Department for International Development, before moving to the International Monetary Fund as deputy managing director in 2011 only to find her new boss engulfed in scandal.

From there, she became the deputy governor at the Bank of England and is currently director of the London School of Economics.

Minouche draws on her vast experience to reflect on her own leadership style, her belief in servant leadership and her passion for promoting diversity.

She also explores the challenges associated with leading decentralised organisations, the beauty of an independent civil service and why a small gesture from Christine Lagarde has stuck with her for many years.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adjusting your leadership to the grain of the organisation: in conversation with Baroness Minouche Shafik Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

“You have to flex your leadership and you don’t really know how to do that until you’ve really understood the culture of the organisation.”

Minouche Shafik was the youngest ever vice president of the World Bank. In 2008, she became permanent secretary of the Department for International Development (Dfid), before moving to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as deputy managing director in 2011 only to find her new boss engulfed in scandal.

From there, she became the deputy governor at the Bank of England and is currently director of the London School of Economics.

Minouche draws on her vast experience to reflect on her own leadership style, her belief in servant leadership and her passion for promoting diversity.

She also explores the challenges associated with leading decentralised organisations like Dfid, the beauty of an independent civil service and why a small gesture from Christine Lagarde has stuck with her for many years.

How some civil servants are leading the digital revolution – Professor Sir David Omand Jul 23, 2021

Show notes

GCHQ is an example for the rest of the public service… here is a case where civil servants have made technology sing.”

In 1996, David Omand faced his first major leadership challenge: he had become the director of GCHQ and was charged with continuing the intelligence agency’s post-Cold War programme of technological transformation and reform.

In this episode David discusses his experience of being “the young man sent from London to destroy the organisation”, the overlooked concept of followership and the importance of having a narrative.

He also explores his time as permanent secretary of the Home Office, reflecting on why he put so much store by safe spaces, how a life-threatening diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma changed his approach to work, and becoming the UK’s first Security and Intelligence Coordinator.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leading the public service digital revolution with Professor Sir David Omand Jul 23, 2021

Show notes

“GCHQ is an example for the rest of the public service… here is a case where civil servants have made technology sing.”

In 1996 David Omand faced his first major leadership challenge: he had become the director of GCHQ and was charged with continuing the intelligence agency’s post-Cold War programme of technological transformation and reform.

The Treasury boy who supported four prime ministers – Lord Gus O’Donnell Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

The idea that in any sense I planned my career is completely wrong.”

Lord Gus O’Donnell’s long career in the civil service started in 1979 in the Treasury and included stints as a diplomat in Washington, press secretary to prime minister John Major and cabinet secretary, head of the civil service and permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office under three prime ministers – Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

In this episode he discusses what it was like to work with four very different leaders, at very different points in their premierships, and with very different styles. He also reflects on his own leadership development, how he remained calm in a crisis and why he regrets feeling irreplaceable.

There are plenty of insights on the civil service too – with comparisons between the private sector, his drive to instill pride and why he always told people that if they want to get on, they should get out, get different experiences …and then come back.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Treasury boy who supported four prime ministers in the UK government - a conversation with Lord Gus O’Donnell Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

“The idea that in any sense I planned my career is completely wrong.”

Lord Gus O’Donnell’s long career in the civil service started in 1979 in the Treasury and included stints as a diplomat in Washington, press secretary to prime minister John Major and Cabinet Secretary, head of the civil service and permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office under three prime ministers – Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

There are plenty of insights on the civil service too – with comparisons between the private sector, his drive to instil pride and why he always told people that if they want to get on, they should get out, get different experiences... and then come back.

When Whitehall leadership dictats don’t work: in conversation with Professor Ciaran Martin CB May 05, 2021

Show notes

“The worst piece of leadership advice I got was: ‘be an authentic leader.’”

Of course be true to yourself and your values, says Ciaran Martin CB, professor of practice in the management of public organisations at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.

“The bit I interpreted wrongly, which made it the worst piece of advice, was to just act yourself at work,” he adds.

In this episode, Ciaran reflects on his long civil service career including stints at the Cabinet Office, GCHQ and latterly as the founding chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre.

He considers the switch from central government into the intelligence agency; why “monolithic” leadership dictats from Whitehall were useless when working with technical specialists; the experience of publicly fronting the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack; and whether Northcote-Trevelyan still holds.

When Whitehall leadership dictats don’t work for civil servants – Professor Ciaran Martin CB May 05, 2021

Show notes

“The worst piece of leadership advice I got was: ‘be an authentic leader.’”

Of course be true to yourself and your values, says Ciaran Martin CB, professor of practice in the management of public organisations at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.

“The bit I interpreted wrongly, which made it the worst piece of advice, was to just act yourself at work,” he adds.

In this episode, Ciaran reflects on his long civil service career including stints at the Cabinet Office, GCHQ and latterly as the founding chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Understanding what’s expected of you in government: a conversation with Dame Helen Ghosh Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

“I have used the term over the years of ‘having running away money’. That doesn’t mean having a stash of savings, but it does mean all the time thinking to yourself, ‘If this job doesn’t work, if I can’t stand this a moment longer… what would I do?’”

Dame Helen Ghosh enjoyed a long career in the civil service, becoming permanent secretary of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2004 and then the Home Office in 2011. She then led the National Trust before becoming master of Balliol College, Oxford in 2018.

In this episode Helen discusses the importance of embedding in and understanding what different organisations expect from a leader, drawing on her extensive experience of taking the helm in very different environments.

She also considers the role of the civil service in serving the government of the day, and shares insights into her own hinterland and where she draws resilience from, as well as female leadership, dealing with public scrutiny and being open to the fact you may have made a mistake.

If you would like to suggest an interviewee for the show, or tell us what you think, you can get in touch by emailing ggfeditor@gmail.com. If you are enjoying the show, we would really appreciate it if you could share it widely and give us a rating.

Your host was Siobhan Benita. Kate Hodge edited the episode, and it was produced by James Ede.

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