Round up: February 7th (Yeah that's right a Saturday Roundup!)

First of all I would just like to give a h/t to Laura who pointed us at this podcast featuring Seth Godin on how the internet is changing leadership.

While I got a lot out of the podcast, if I had to break it down to five simple statements it would look something like this:

1. People don't line up to follow defend the status quo, they line up to follow people who make change.
2. People aren't leaders because they are charismatic, they are charismatic because they are leaders.
3. Leaders need to secure enough in their future to make things happen but isn't so entangled with the religion of the status quo (e.g. bureaucratic tendency for risk aversion) that they are afraid to do something new.
4. Leaders need to be humble enough to recognize that connecting people and identifying opportunities is more important then recognition.
5. Shake things up now, ask permission later because very few people get fired for creative instigation (aka virtuous scheming).

The podcast was enough to prompt me to downloaded Seth's audio-book Tribes (which is available for free download here) and will give it a whirl despite Etienne's review, also you can see some of Laura's thoughts here.

Second, you may or may not notice that we now have a new favicon for the site. Ironically enough I checked my site from my work and my department blocks images from the site I am using to host the image, so if you are behind the same firewall as I am, you don't get to see it!

Third, here is a link to the GCPEDIA summary of the You and the Evolving Public Service Conference, where I am delivering a workshop on networking for public servants and the Keynote Address on Scheming Virtuously (Yes, its now a deck!). Mike was invited but couldn't make it.

Info & Links to Share

Colin McKay (Office of the Privacy Commissioner) posted a government job on craigslist (awesome!).

The NCVM has released their First Annual Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet on the Status of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service

CGEM has published their February issue which includes an article written by Etienne, in fact the entire issue focuses on renewal. I obviously haven't gotten to all of it yet, but I plan to.

The PM has decided to fold the Public Service Agency into Treasury Board; you can read Etienne's take on it here.


News (MSM)

1. 44% say work interferes with family time (Downturn strains ability to find elusive work-life balance)
2. Assault on the bureaucrats: Ottawa may be planning civil service wage freeze
3. When real work disappears, bring on the busywork
   

Blogs

1. If You’re a Government 2.0 Guru, You have no Business in Government 2.0 c/o Techno Sailor
   
2. US Air Force Social Engagement Process c/o Peter Smith
   
3. Canada Revenue Agency announces YouTube contest c/o Mike Kujawski (Make sure to read the comments, and follow them to the spoof video, where the real 'convo' happened).
4. Performance Management and Measurement c/o Etienne
5. Statistics Canada launched a census forum c/o Mike Kujawski
6. GCPEDIA: Government of Canada gets it when it comes to wikis and open-source c/o Douglas Bastien and/or GCPEDIA update c/o Peter Smith (both make some great points, but the latter post also includes some great tweets by @thornley.
   

BTW, where was my invite? I am looking at you Doug, Joe, Peter, and even Jeff! I have been in communication with all of you in the last 2 weeks!)

Final Reaction

Doug blogged some advice, namely, do not start a blog about the government of Canada. Which prompted Etienne to respond in kind.

Doug raises some key points and to be honest, my initial advice would be similar - don't start a blog about the government of Canada, not unless you are willing to bare out the (potentially numerous) consequences. I feel for both Etienne who has already, and Doug, who seems to be currently, undergoing rigourous reviews. Something that thus far, Mike and I have been able to avoid.

Etienne - I know we haven't chatted in a while now, sadly both Mike and I have been very busy in both our professional and personal lives, which obviously makes making time for side projects such as this blog more difficult to secure. We may in fact have inadvertently reduced the number of posts on the blog but to be honest, producing the roundups is a difficult and time consuming task given the amount of information we come across in a given week. Consider the size of this round up, the amount of information it shares (e.g. outbound links) and the date on which it is posted and well, I suppose I don't even need to finish the sentence - you understand the commitment well enough. With that said, I hope that all of you find the roundups informative and worthwhile.

Thanks everyone for checking in, today's round up was probably more then you bargained for!

Round-Up: November 24th

Things inside the GoC

1. PCO put up a power point presentation from a PS Recruitment fair.
2. The fall edition of Its my day is up and running.
3. You probably want to read the speech from the throne if you haven't already. Here is the relevant snippet on Public Service Renewal:

The Public Service of Canada is a key national institution. Public servants inspect our food and police our borders. They deliver programs and services to millions of Canadians in every region of this country, from our largest cities to the most remote Arctic communities. Drawing on the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Public Service, our Government is committed to the continued renewal of the Public Service.

News

1. Don't ignore value of digital generation
2. PS faces forced wage controls
3. Ottawa public servants face stagnant wages, fewer colleagues
4. Unions need to wake up to the reality of today's economy
5. How clerk's job moved to the centre of power
6. Federal public service faces challenge of renewal
7. Civil service hiring outlook remains healthy

Blogs

1. What's the Fuss Over Leadership? c/o Etienne
2. On-the-Spot Job Offers: Real Solution or Quick Fix? (c/o Etienne - we really like this one!)
3. For What it's Worth c/o Paul Crookall @ CGEM. (I was also @ the Osbaldeston Lecture, I hope to provide my reaction in the future, but in the interim you can get the flavour of the lecture from Paul's blog posting.)

Interesting Armchairs being offered @ CSPS

1. Depression Was Not Part of my Career plan (EN/FR)
2. Bottom Up Change: It Starts with an Individual (EN/FR) (by our Friend Etienne Laliberté)
3. Government Blogging - Best Practices and Tips for Success (by our friend Mike Kujawski)

Other things of interest

1. 10 Ways to Make Office Slacker Pull His Weight

Round-Up: November 18

Here are some links that may be of interest:

c/o Ottawa Citizen

1. Government assets could be sold to balance budget, Flaherty says

Here is the snippet you probably want to know about:

Mr. Flaherty also said the government is looking at controlling the rate of growth in the salaries of public servants, and is continuing a strategic review of expenditures at all government departments.

c/o Havard Business Publishing

1. What leaders need to do right to move up
2. Confessions of an unrepentant BlackBerry addict

Round-Up October 6

Here is a small editorial from the Sault Star entitled, No need to clam up.

Jessica McDonald, BC's Premier Gordon Campbell's deputy minister and head of the public service gave an interview to the Vancouver Sun. Here is a great excerpt:

"The new generation of workers is less interested in a career with one organization for their whole career than they have been in the past," she said.

"We need to grab hold of these employees in their first year and let them design their career path, rather than just assuming -- the way it was in the past -- that where they started is where they want to be out into the long term."

To really change, she said, the public service needs to shift its attitude from within.

"We want people to feel like their jobs are rewarding, like they actually have some influence over their own work environment and how they can do their job the best," she said.

Frustrated federal prosecutors across Canada are quitting over poor pay coupled with increased work loads.

The National Post came out in favour of less government regulation citing the recent listeriosis outbreak while referencing the CFIA employee who sent a classified document to his union.

Meanwhile, a bureaucrat fighting the Public Service Commission has won the right to remain anonymous.

... and, PSAC has [an] opportunity to elect '[their] employer says Fitzpatrick (c/o Hill Times so a subscrption is required) [Aside: Given, how the party that assumes power will approach its relationship with the public service matters (to both public servants and Canadians in general) but union involvment in this issue makes me a bit uneasy. Does anyone else see this as a potential conflict of interest issue? I assume their is an official policy somewhere on this, if anyone could provide us with a link on we would be happy to share it.]

Government of Canada Offerings

Armchair discussions at the CSPS have resumed. Click here to see their Calendar.

PCO just released a great page on their website, The Role and Structure of the Privy Council Office 2008 -- one stop shop for understanding everything PCO does.


Finally - thanks for all your comments (on the blog) and your emails. It is great to hear from you, keep it up.

Round-Up: September 24

News

Senior Civil Servants in BC are still under the gun for their pay raises.

Former president of the Nuclear Safety Commission, Linda Keen, is in the news again.

Public Works has apparently put the kaibosh on all new contracts posted on MERX unless a compelling case can be made for the procurement as essential.

There is an interesting article about the new head of the New Brunswick civil service, David Ferguson. He sounds like a pretty good guy to work for:

One senior civil servant who has worked closely with Ferguson said he demands both quality and timely recommendations, putting a premium on thorough advice. But he is blessed with a management style that exudes conciliation over confrontation.

"He puts people at ease with an informal manner. He's not at all hierarchical, wears a tie only as needed, and a great sense of humour runs in the family," the source said.

A video of a bureaucrats is making the rounds on the internet, albeit for completely political reasons.

The video is getting a lot of press (including a great spot on the Current on CBC Radio One this morning) and the numerous versions floating out their on youtube combine for about 100,000 views. Imagine if we put together a tongue in cheek video about renewal that got that kind of coverage.

(BTW, I feel it worth mentioning that I can't actually view the video from behind the firewall ... so I hope that link works... if not try youtubing for 'culture in danger' or 'culture en peril'.)

Blogs

Mike Kujawski posted the presentation he did from Podcamp 2008 in Montreal. You can head on over to check it out.

FYI we are 'mentioned" in slide 42 as an unofficial government blog. (Thanks Mike!)

Round-Up: September 23

Blogs

Mike Kujawski reports back from Podcamp 2008 in Montreal. Here is the snippet relevant to Public Servants:

My main take away from my own presentation (based on the discussion) was that the government needs to get out of silos and start working together as one entity. There is a ton of existing internal support for better citizen engagement and there are high-level public service renewal initiatives currently underway that social media engagement can easily piggy back on. I have decided to organize something in Ottawa to address this. Stay tuned…

Looking forward to it Mike.

Also, Peter Smith makes a good case for repositioning GoC websites launch pads for content rather then as destinations.

News

Public pressure once again means lower then expected/promised pay increases for Civil Servants in British Columbia.

Events

The Conference Board of Canada is holding a conference in Ottawa in November. The opening address would be of interest but obviously the cost is prohibitive. Here is a snippet from the conference brochure:

Renewal and Change
in the Federal Public Service

Jim Lahey, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Public Service
Renewal, Privy Council Office

Driven by the service and transparency expectations of citizens, changing demographics and the need to reinvigorate the public sector brand, change is now top of the agenda for leaders in all levels of government and the broader public sector. Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council, believes there is a choice between renewal and government “becoming less relevant, less useful and less respected as the years go by.”

Jim Lahey will set the scene with his insights into Canadian Public Service renewal, and how change management is needed at the individual, team, department, and organizational levels.