Civil Service Impartiality — When is an elephant in fact a windmill?I came across a blog recently about civil service impartiality that has had me thinking. I missed it when it was originally published last…Mar 9Mar 9
What Sue Gray working for Kier Starmer tells us about the state of the Civil ServiceIt has been announced that Sue Gray, the former Senior Civil Servant who, amongst other things, led the independent enquiry into alleged…Mar 4, 2023Mar 4, 2023
Why pluralism mattersAs I have remarked before, I was keen to be a civil servant when I was younger and I was fortunate enough to make it my career for nearly…Apr 18, 2022Apr 18, 2022
What do civil servant’s actually do? — Part Four: engaging with the sectorIn this fourth and final blog in this series, I will explore how civil servants engage with the real world when developing and delivering…Mar 25, 2022Mar 25, 2022
What do civil servant’s actually do? — Part Three: policy versus administrationSir Humphrey Appleby : Yes, yes, yes, I do see that there is a real dilemma here. In that, while it has been government policy to regard…Mar 25, 2022Mar 25, 2022
What do civil servant’s actually do? — Part Two: political impartialityIn this second blog in a series looking at the role of civil servants, I consider one of the key features of the UK civil service —…Mar 25, 2022Mar 25, 2022
What do civil servant’s actually do? — Part One: nuts and bolts of policy adviceThe civil service is one of the largest employers in the UK, with something like 500,000 civil servants at the moment (472,000 FTE as of…Mar 25, 2022Mar 25, 2022
Be an authentic leader? Sure, but what if you are authentically an ars*hole?As Polonius has it in Hamlet “To thine own self be true.” Authenticity is sometimes viewed as the holy grail of leadership. The idea is…Sep 8, 2021Sep 8, 2021
‘Long burnout’As we tentatively begin to emerge from the worst ravages of the Covid pandemic — at least in some parts of the world, and of course…Aug 20, 2021Aug 20, 2021
How can leaders protect themselves as they help others?We’ve all heard the same analogy right? We are all in an airplane and the oxygen masks fall from the cabin ceiling, and the clear message…Jul 18, 2021Jul 18, 2021
