Embracing Authenticity Means Embracing Complexity

by Nick Charney

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Today I wanted to focus on the connection between authenticity and complexity but before jumping to the meat of it I wanted to recap how we got here. Whether you've noticed or not, we've been deliberately walking you down a very deliberate path recently:

• I asked a thought provoking question about the tenuous relationship between bureaucrats who see value in pursuing innovative and a public narrative that demands predictability (See: Can Bureaucrats be Interesting When the World Demands they be Boring);
• I put forth an argument that positioned the problem of facelessness as one that is self made, that the bureaucracy relies on passive rules and protocols rather than active relationship buildings (See: The Real Problem of Facelessness); 
• Kent argued that continuing to rely on these things is unsustainable and that potential for public servants to have an impact on the lives of others at this point in time is nearly unparalleled (See: Moving Public Service Mountains Part I & Part II); 
• I positioned the solution to the problem of facelessness as greater authenticity in our dealings with each other and by extension those we serve (See: The Solution to Facelessness is Authenticity);
• I shared a whimsical video and a powerful story that exemplifies the type of authenticity that the civil service desperately needs (See: Peak Bullshit & A Noteworthy Example of Authenticity);
• I re-iterated a recent discussion that helped me realize the importance of the stories we set in motion today while Kent argued that good storytelling is akin to usability for ideas (See: On the Stories You Tell Today & Towards a New Professionalism in Government);
• I shared a personal story about a little boy I met ten years ago that still shapes my expectations today to illustrate the point (See: We All Have Our Defining Moments); 
• We even reviewed a book that serves as a powerful example of the need to and the difficulty of elevating a more authentic public policy discourse (See: Impossible Conversations: A Review of Jeffrey Simpson's Chronic Condition); and
• As an added bonus, the conversation spilled over to another a blog we happen to like (See: The Whole Hearted Bureaucrat: The Public Service as Reflective Practice written by Ashleigh Weeden)

So here's the rub

If we are going to embrace greater authenticity than we must also be willing to embrace greater complexity; or as Ashleigh put it:

If we disallow public servants to embody their authenticity by insisting on facelessness, we are taking away the critical factor of connection that allows human beings to find and create meaning. Creating spaces that function solely on technical objectivity and risk aversion ... we numb our institutional nervous system with a false anaesthetic that makes it incredibly difficult for public servants to exercise compassion and holistic understanding. And the problems we face today require and deserve the full force talents of courageous, compassionate, wholehearted people.

Which is precisely what I take to be the meaning of fearless advice: courage, compassion, and wholeheartedness, not just with our political masters but with each other.

The connection to public policy

The complexity that authenticity creates in our interpersonal relationships and the friction between that malleable authenticity and our rigid organizational structures is not only palpable but also serves as a fair proxy for what we should expect as we enter more authentic discussions about pressing public policy issues. This is precisely what Simpson gets to in his book and can easily be extended to a number of other public policy challenges.

Where does that leave us?

Given what I've outlined above, our course of action seems fairly clear. From where I sit, I think we ought to wholeheartedly embrace the richness of complexity in both our interpersonal relationships and the policy solutions we pursue while telling the right stories today with a view to making them usable tomorrow.

My hope is that you agree with me, my fear is that you don't.

A Noteworthy Example of Authenticity

by Nick Charney

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Last week I leaned heavily on a speech made by Allan Gregg to try to position authenticity as the antidote to the problem of facelessness (see: The Solution to Facelessness is Authenticity); a problem that I argued the week before that was not some abstract thing out there but rather one that is entre nous (see: The Real Problem of Facelessness). In so doing I pointed back a previous post where I encouraged people to make the most of opportunities for fearless advice in your day to day interactions with peers, because quite frankly given the nature of our organizations, very few of us actually have opportunities to give fearless advice to those who hold the balance of power (see:On Fearless Advice and Loyal Implementation).

Essentially what I was arguing for was - as one commenter pointed out - "getting real instead of relying mechanically on machine-like institutional protocols to achieve things" and by extension define our relationships, shape our work, and the public perception there of. A recent article in Canadian Government Executive written by George Wenzel is a perfect example of this. It takes the narrative of the wasteful, bloated and ineffective civil service and stands it on its head:

I proudly work for the National Managers' Community (NMC), a group with only 22 paid staff in the federal government. During my two-year term in this job, I've been given responsibility to build a community of managers in Alberta. My assigned goal is to improve the quality of public sector management across the province.

My inexperience in event planning and communications didn't stop the NMC from exploiting my potential. I learned fast. In one year, I offered 33 leadership events to over 800 participants. Total cost: $20,000 (30 percent under budget). Fantastic value for tax dollars. On quality, 90 percent of participants said they’d recommend the sessions to colleagues. High quality and low cost. Not what you hear in the news, is it?

I started a weekly email newsletter to connect leaders across the 40-plus departments with staff in Alberta. It grew from 250 to 1600 subscribers in 18 months. By word of mouth. Total cost to keep managers informed? Zero. I write it mostly outside of work time. Why? Because I'm committed to making a difference.

To summarize: I'm a proud public servant. I'm frugal with the public purse. I strive to be excellent in all that I do. And I'm not alone.

I have long argued for purposeful story telling and that stories - especially those that show the vulnerability of the story teller - can go a long way in shaping a larger narrative  (see: Scheming Virtuously: A Handbook for Public Servants & Purposeful Story Telling). George does this perfectly, showing his face literally and figuratively. Messily blending a complex set of interrelated story elements: substance, passion, reason, and attribution in a potentially hostile online environment.

Re-read the excerpt above, George's remarks speak to directly to the substantive nature of his work and are rooted in the fact that his passion, not protocol, drives his work. If you click through to the link, you will also find a picture of George and his coordinates in the byline. At the risk of sensationalizing his modest act of courage, the article as a whole could be considered as a reclamation of "face" and the re-humanization of George's work in the public sphere.

I for one, think he's onto something, maybe its time more of us told our stories.

Giving credit where credit is due

There have been a lot of really influential people thus far in my career, but one of the most influential has to be Etienne.

Etienne's now dormant blog on management in the public sector was an incredible source of inspiration and learning when I first broke into this business and his paper "An Inconvenient Renewal" was (and still is) one of the most well articulated arguments for public sector renewal I have ever read. While we can all benefit from the public nature of Etienne's work, I feel particularly privileged to have been able to have a number of private one on one conversations with the man.

In fact, the highlight of my week was dinner with Etienne here in Ottawa. He finally got to meet my wife and our children. We shared a bottle of wine and talked at length about life, change and the public service and even though he stepped back from the public sector right now, his passion for it (and life in general) is still as infectious as it was when we first spoke on the telephone almost 5 years ago.

One of the highlights of that conversation about the three bits of advice he would give a public servant looking to be successful in the current environment:

• Do what you are told
• Don't rock the boat
• Make your boss look good

What followed was a hilarious and telling conversation about whether he and I were capable of doing all three at the same time, or if we were more likely to search out opportunities to do combine them in some novel ways. My favorite combination by far was rocking the boat while doing what you are told and making your boss look good; after all, those are the types of opportunities I think many change makers are looking for. The icing on the cake was having my wife there to keep us both honest.

In the end, the meal, the wine and the conversation was exactly what I needed; and that's fitting because it sums up my relationship with Etienne. He's always been someone who has been there for me offering me exactly what I needed when I needed it.

Keep an eye out for these people as you advance in your career, because they are as rare as they are important.


Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.ca subscribe/connect

Reflections on my career at the age of 30

Today is my 30th birthday.

Since everyone says it’s an important milestone I figured it would be appropriate to sit back and reflect on my career so far.


On Appreciation

I am grateful for many things at this point in my career but most of all I am grateful for having the opportunity to have met many of you in person. To forge long lasting relationships with friends in places like Victoria, Vancouver, Kamloops, Edmonton, Toronto, Halifax and Washington DC. I've shared a beer (or two) with many of you, some of you have even opened your homes to me when I needed a place to stay. I appreciate your friendship, your hospitality, and your ongoing support, but most importantly your deep commitment to public service.

I probably don't say this enough, but thank you.


On Finding the Time

People always ask me how I find the time to be consistently engaging on multiple fronts, managing my workload, taking care of family, churning out content online, staying active, traveling and taking on speaking engagements, and I think I always disappoint people with the answer. I truly believe that you find time for the things you love, and those are the things I love. I live my life like I walk down the street, head up and on a swivel, at a decent pace, and ready to swing an elbow if and when it’s necessary.


On Opportunity

I have had a tremendous amount of opportunity so far. I've been invited in to do consultation with government agencies at the federal, provincial and municipal levels all across the country and in so doing have seen more of Canada than I ever thought possible.

The scope of the work I have been able to undertake has been vast and varied and has led me to a number of opportunities that I hadn't anticipated. One thing I've learned is that is is always more important to focus on the opportunity in front of you than it is to focus on creating the next opportunity. The former, if done well, will earn you the latter.

I think Alex Himelfarb (former Clerk of the Privy) said it best when he told me that:

"A career isn't something you plan in advance but rather something you look back at in retrospect,"

I thought that was an incredibly important piece on insight from a man who served as Clerk to three consecutive Prime Ministers.

On the Future

I'm really excited about some of the things I've got cooking for the future. First and foremost is my first novel. Writing a novel is something that I've always wanted to do and I've been slowly honing my writing skills over the last few years and think I'm ready to take a crack at it. Bureaucratica is:

Bureaucratica is the working title of what will hopefully become my first novel. The basic premise of the book is a fifty-something-year-old bureaucrat named John Andrews who is looking back and narrating his career post facto. I want to try to use the story line to poke the sleeping bear of bureaucratic culture. I want to question some of the most primary bureaucratic tendencies and strip away some of the bullshit that we all have become so accustomed to.

It’s an interesting blend of fact and fiction and incredibly fun to write. I'm blogging it openly as the story unfolds and hope to be done by my 31st birthday, at which point I will investigate publishing it independently or otherwise. I'm also inviting feedback during the process, and am completely open to character and story arc suggestions. Ideally I'd love to make this as open and participatory as possible.

I'm also working on my TEDxOttawa talk in which I will make a case for reforming how governments approach grants and contributions programs, ending with one possible vision of what that might actually look like.

I'm also expanding the places I will be writing. I've published a piece on Metaviews entitled Single Click Government and am planning a follow up article in the near future. I'm also working on a series of articles that may wind up on Apt613 that explores the notion that Ottawa is just another sleepy government town. Finally, I plan on standing up a site to blog with my father during the month of Movember about our family's experience with prostate cancer.

With that I want to leave you with a little Tom Petty for your Friday morning. Keep running down your dreams, because there is something good waiting down that road.

Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.casubscribe/connect

Public service renewal: the weekly round-up

Here's the usual round up of good stuff worth reading from last week. Enjoy!

Here at home:

• EI centres in Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Vancouver to shrink workforce
• Elections Canada eyes online voting
• The Common Look and Feel for the Internet 2.0 Standard (CLF 2.0) is being replaced by 3 new Standards
• The GoC is looking for a new look.
• But we might need more than a fresh coat of paint

International:

• Japan: interesting move by Takeo City in Japan, who have made the bold decision to move their entire council website to Facebook.
• Australia: The state government of Western Australia recently announced that it is abandoning shared corporate services after spending in excess of A$345m over seven years implementing a shared services strategy. This outcome should send a shiver down the spine of any government contemplating shared services strategies to reduce costs. Ouch.
• Greece: Public pension fund pays 1,473 dead Greeks
• U.K.: constructive talks about the use of social media in recent rioting

Social media

• Everything You Need To Know About Google Plus
• Why did you unfollow me? The Psychology of Twitter

This post has been a collaborative effort from Lee-Anne Peluk and Nicholas Charney.You can check out Lee-Anne's blog "In the Shuffle" at www.leeannepeluk.wordpress.com


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Public service renewal: the weekly round-up

August 8 - 12, 2011

It’s Monday, folks. Here’s the weekly.

If you read one thing this week, it should be this post from the Snarky Optimist. It’s a thoughtful, well-written, and eye-opening response (in part) to my previous post: I would’ve eaten glass to get this job. I love a good dialogue, and Chelsea’s post illustrates that the story of contractors in the federal government is a complicated one, with many equally valid perspectives.

This week in cuts:

• An excellent overview of the federal government job cuts, so far
• Why you, not me? The Hill Times publishes a piece on the Environment Canada cuts from last week
• And, more opportunities and even bigger challenges loom large for our newest department, Shared Services -- who is responsible for giving us an infrastructure for the 21^st century

Social goodies:

• Who loves Haiku? People in Japan are flocking to Twitter to make social poetry
• Are Twitter and Facebook the anti-social networks?
• Old, but new to me: Malcolm Gladwell – why the revolution will not be tweeted. OR: Social media can’t provide what social change has always required
• An argument that all of our disclaimers do not matter – and that there is no difference between our personal accounts and your professional ones
• What does the U.S. Army really think about social media? Find out!

Relationships and Cultural change

• Since the PS culture is shifting all around us, here are the 10 key lessons you can take with you for the ride
• The newest web standard is out for us to view, and it’s got me thinking all about content strategy. Here’s a read on why making relationships with your web visitors is important

And let’s end with a laugh, shall we?

• How to kill a dead horse

This post has been a collaborative effort from Lee-Anne Peluk and Nicholas Charney. You can check out Lee-Anne's blog "In the Shuffle" at www.leeannepeluk.wordpress.com

I would've eaten glass to get this job

Friends, I am currently on vacation in beautiful New Brunswick, but instead of leaving you hanging, here's a guest post by a fellow public servant blogger whose writing caught my eye. Enjoy.

I would've eaten glass to get this job

Moving to the bureaucracy from the world of NGOs, for me, meant serious growing pains.

I really, really wanted a job in the public service. I would have eaten glass in sharp, jagged pieces to make my casual position a permanent job -- if my manager would've asked. I did whatever I was told, even if it seemed like nonsense or a time-waster. I had 90 days to prove I could fit in with the best of them, so I never wanted to rock the boat, in case the door closed on my one foot holding it open.

I know that there are a lot of other people that want a job in the public service, but settle for contract work. In fact, over $1 billion a year is spent on contracts. It’s been called a “shadow public service” – the vast, growing reserve of temporary help. I'm sure that given the choice, any of these contractors would prefer to work with government, rather than alongside it.

It's only natural; it's a good job. I get paid well. I get to think about issues of national importance, and I don't have to worry every single day about the next contract or assignment. And more people want it than can possibly have it.

Maybe you'd be inclined to argue that it's this hunger that drives innovation. I'd say you should watch this awesome little video by Dan Pink. Hunger and innovation do not go hand-in-hand.

When you join any group, there's a period of socialization; the public service is no different. I had to learn "the ways." But the way I see it, this process of socialization is the very place where public service renewal needs to begin. Being on contract essentially silences you because you want that contract to be renewed -- and this is the starting point for a good number of public servants, who then carry this attitude throughout their careers.

The impact of this is insidious. Besides the silencing, it leaves behind a legacy of contradictions:

• We are constantly in competition for jobs, but supposed to work as a team
• Many are 'advisors' who don't actually provide advice, but instead perform highly administrative tasks
• Our system for hiring is supposed to be transparent and fair, but to who? Job applications seem to end up in a black hole. (I applied for over 30 jobs in the PS and I never got called for one of them, until, of course, I had public service experience. Which I could only get by becoming -- you guessed it -- a contractor)

There are some shops in my department that are run completely through the use of contractors. They get the job done, sure. But we need a public service that does more than uphold the status quo.

It's frustrating and enough to make one depressed, and depressed we are -- we have 11,100 public servants collecting disability benefits right now. And headlines have been popping up aplenty in recent years that depression among Canada’s public servants is the country’s biggest public health crisis.

To various degrees, we all behave in a way that we perceive to be expected of us. That happens in all sectors, and it's useful sometimes, too. But my point is that we will continue to pursue public service renewal at only the surface level as long as we continue to perpetuate this cycle of "insiders" and "outsiders."

As long as there are people who are willing to eat glass to get in, there will be a culture that lacks innovation. They will do what they are told, rather than trying to come up with innovative ideas. We must pursue this type of cultural change to get at the heart of renewal.

We need strong, rational leadership that charts an unwavering course forward. We need to think collectively instead of in silos and tribes. We need to make changes in our HR processes; we need to find a way to promote teamwork, downplay hierarchy, and make the #GoC one big team.

Now that'd be really worth eating glass over.

-- Lee-Anne Peluk

Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.casubscribe/connect

Public service renewal: the weekly round up

July 25 - 29, 2011

Heya!

Welcome back.

It's summer and with long weekends and plenty of off-screen reading to do, this week, WATCH THIS if nothing else: What motivates us, anyway?

Cuts and criticism:

• In New Brunswick, more than 150 term positions are being cut.
• Apparently, one staffer was disciplined for posting this video criticizing the close of the search and rescue centre in Halifax.
• Feds silence scientist over salmon study.

Cool stuff happening in the U.S.

• The White House continues engaging by trying something new on its social networks. Starting last week, senior staff at the White House will have regular "Office Hours" to answer citizen questions on a host of issues and topics. Interested? Use the hashtag #WHChat, and follow @WhiteHouse for the latest updates.
• Lose lips sink ... organized crime syndicates?? The National Security Agency will use social media and improved data sharing as part of an enhanced strategy to fight organized crime in the United States and abroad.
• Last month, the U.S. General Services Administration completed the transition of its employees to Google’s cloud-based email and collaboration applications

And here at home:

• To mark its 100th anniversary, Parks Canada launched its first mobile phone application, Heritage Gourmet, which offers more than 70 recipes tied to the country’s historical landmarks, some dating back to the 18th century. Yum, there's a recipe for Sourdough Flapjacks!!
• If you want to learn how Canadians are communicating and interacting online, look no further than social networking sites. According to Ipsos’ most recent Canadian Interactive Reid Report special feature on Social Networking, one-half of all Canadians (50%) and the majority of online Canadians (60%) now have a social networking profile.

Misc.:

• Google+ took only 24 days to reach 20 million users but their decision to delete accounts without real names attached has caused anger.
• What is Program Evaluation and Does it Really Matter?
• How to capture Twitter conversations

This post has been a collaborative effort from Lee-Anne Peluk and Nicholas Charney.

You can check out Lee-Anne's blog "In the Shuffle" at www.leeannepeluk.wordpress.com







Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.casubscribe/connect