What capabilities can you grow so we can improve, innovate and look toward the future as a public service?

This July, IPAA SA Members had the opportunity to hear from Damien Walker, Chief Executive, Department of the Premier and Cabinet as he joined us for An Hour in the Room. The word that resonates post-event is CURIOSITY, with the ambition of the public sector being a driving force for future achievement and growth in South Australia.

Every public servant has a role to play in fostering a spirit of innovation, problem-solving and continuous improvement.

So, what are some of the things public sector professionals and leaders can focus on to embrace curiosity?

Encouraging continuous learning

Valuing continuous learning and development encourages public sector staff at all levels to explore new ideas and grow the capabilities needed to make these a reality. As the world continues to rapidly change, we need to focus on developing leaders who can quickly pivot to emerging areas of staff development and embed the value of learning into organisational culture.

If you lead a team, you can focus on making resources and opportunities for learning available for your team and building a positive team culture around it. For team members, try and take an active role in your development and seek out opportunities that could add to your capabilities (and, by extension, your organisation).

Some tips on building a positive learning culture:

• Create space for learning – Plan for your team to be engaging with development opportunities and consider what you can do to embed learning upon their return.
• Embrace peer-to-peer learning – Look for opportunities for staff to teach each other and share valuable skills and knowledge.
• Develop your coaching skills – Familiarise yourself with coaching frameworks that will help your team discover and realise their development goals.

Embrace Experimentation

As highlighted by Damien, we should seek to create a safe space for public servants at all levels to experiment with their ideas. He explains that we need to develop leaders to allow their people the opportunity to take risks and experiment. In many circumstances, where cost and risk are manageable, there is a need to remove the red-tape to innovative ideas.

Damien also particularly stresses the need for ‘local innovation’, where we can see new ideas being tried at smaller scales – supporting a wide-scale positive shift over time. As he notes, everyone in the public sector should be an innovator and he seeks to give them a licence to innovate and be curious about what could be done better and differently.

For team leaders, you can focus on understanding the factors behind your risk appetite and that of your organisation and having clarity around their communication. Team members can benefit from learning about risk from the management perspective and honing their communication skills, so that when you have that great idea, you can get the support you need.

Recognise ‘good’ innovation

‘Good’ innovation does not always mean success, and often we learn the most important lessons through our failures along the way. Damien shares that we need to “shine the light” on examples of innovation done right – where we celebrate success and are open and unafraid to explore and learn from ideas that are ‘less successful’.

The markers of ‘good’ innovation are not always straight-forward; however, the following can collectively help us decide on its effectiveness and value.

• Does it solve a real problem and is it a problem that ‘actually’ needs fixing?
• Does it meet a need of the community we serve?
• Does the idea have a measure of originality or uniqueness?
• Is the idea likely to be viable and accepted by the people it is aimed at?
• Does the idea make a positive impact or create a tangible benefit for stakeholders and community?
• Does the idea open the door to collaboration?
• Does the idea allow us to be nimble and adaptive?

If you are a team leader, you can support this by creating psychologically safe spaces and putting systems for reflection and recognition in place. As a team member, you can focus on calling out good ideas, supporting your colleagues and building resilience, to make the most of every challenge and opportunity.

So, what are the key principles that we should follow to be curious public sector innovators?

Damien shares that rigid frameworks can inhibit our ability to act on our curiosity and instead highlights a few key considerations that leaders and public sector staff can use to guide their thinking.

1. Is the cost and risk to the community and organisation reasonable? We should consider what measuring stick we use to determine if an idea is worth testing or pursuing. Risk appetite statements can be a helpful tool in communicating this and by establishing a clear statement, leaders can make informed decisions that balance risk and innovation.
2. Does the idea support positive outcomes and opportunities for the community? The public sector is representative of the public we serve. Weighing up the value of innovation against its capacity for public good can be helpful in guiding thinking and gaining support from stakeholders.

Learn more and watch the recording of An Hour in the Room with Damien Walker here.

There is an old saying by Peter Drucker – Culture eats strategy for breakfast! This session dives into what is risk culture, how can we manage it and why it is important.

Engagement and performance are both buzzwords for managers, but what can you do practically as a leader and manager to improve these across your team? From our two newest courses to the program (which you can find below), we share 3 helpful insights on these topics.

1. Aligning your team to goals and objectives
Set your ‘flag on top of the hill’ to provide a clear and strategic outlook on organisational priorities, and be prepared to communicate these goals frequently and in different ways. Creating buy-in at all levels will help your team members feel empowered and engaged in the process. Secondly, set performance measures that are clearly relevant to the overall strategy and vision of your department or organisation – which also have real meaning and benefit to team members.

2. Provide regular feedback to your team
We all enjoy being celebrated for our work and contributions – and your team members are no different. Dedicating time to providing feedback that is specific, timely and constructive will make your team feel more engaged and valued. Providing (and receiving) feedback doesn’t always have to be done in a formal setting; sitting down for a coffee with a team member, or recognising their success in an upcoming meeting, helps lay the foundation for a resilient organisational culture that celebrates wins (of all sizes).

3. Create space for collaboration
In a world on the cusp of an AI revolution, valuing the human aspect of our organisations is all the more important. Open up the space across your team for people to work together, share ideas and collaborate on projects. A collaborative workspace helps team members feel increasingly connected to the organisation and more engaged with their work. You might like to consider what small changes you can make to make collaboration part of your team’s culture.

Explore more insights and resources on engagement and performance here:

• Understanding Emotional Intelligence – article (2 min read)
• How can you apply neuroleadership to manage others – article (3 min read)
• ‘A great exhaustion or a great inspiration?’, Work With Purpose #67 – (50 min listen)
• ‘Workforce Transformation’, Work with Purpose #66 – (50 min listen)

People need feedback on their work and both managers and staff need comfortable stress free ways to give and receive performance feedback. Develop your skills as a new manager to confidently provide feedback to staff who are performing well, as well as those who need to improve.