What Works at Work
Practical Management Advice from Experts
It is perhaps unsurprising that two of my most popular publications are Understanding Organisations and Leading and Managing Policy Teams. This is in large part because they include advice from private sector managers and senior officials who are willing to say ‘what works’ as distinct from the often flawed management practices of some other mandarins1.
I have therefore been very pleased to persuade Mark O’Sullivan to add his What Works at Work to the civil service website. There is plenty of academic research which shows what works, and what doesn’t work, when recruiting , motivating, dealing with conflict and so on. Mark deploys his academic background in organisational psychology and his extensive experience in the Civil Service to offer evidence-based advice relevant to all modern managers. Each chapter is short and sensible so you can learn much more efficiently than by attending a training course. You can download individual chapters or the whole book (for free!) here.
I also take this opportunity to mention that I have added Whose got the Monkey? to my online library. It is a very well known Harvard Business Review article - though new to me - which deploys a great mixture of humour and observation to explain why managers are very often far too busy whilst their subordinates can be running out of work. Do read it, especially if you are a manager, as it might help you empower your staff more effectively - and get home a bit earlier.
And if you enjoy either publication, please do recommend them to friends and colleagues, and encourage them to subscribe to these newsletters - and maybe to Harvard Business Review.
The Observer recently reported that FCDO officials ‘hoping to keep their jobs have been asked to submit a 500-word essay defending their work … distracting and demoralising staff at a vital moment in foreign affairs’. Apart from all the other criticisms that could be made of this policy, it does seem to divert attention away from what should essentially be management decisions. (See also the comments, below.)
Thanks Michael and you are of course right at one level. But those 500 words would be (or would certainly feel like) your one chance to save your job, possibly at the expense of the colleague sitting next to you, or another person in the same small overseas post. The stakes would feel very high, and the ethical and personal dilemmas could feel very serious. The task would also feel more challenging for those in 'backroom' jobs that do not require writing skills. Maybe I am wrong but it feels to me as though FCDO management were trying, to some extent, to avoid making their own difficult decisions.
I don't know whether the FCDO essay idea is a good one or not. But if a civil servant complains it's demoralising or distracting I'd be wondering about their suitability. I could write 500 analytical, evidence-based and concise words on that theme in an hour. Anyone above an admin officer should be able to do the same without any problem. If someone thinks it's a major exercise, I wonder about their day to day productivity.