A group of New Zealand researchers have examined how paradoxical leadership contributes to public administration employee resilience.

Dr Esme Franken and Dr Geoff Plimmer from the Victoria University of Wellington, and Associate Professor Sanna Malinen from the University of Canterbury, surveyed a cross section of staff at a large public organisation in New Zealand. They chose it because the organisation itself faced many paradoxes — it had a complex mix of policy, regulatory, service and development functions and was frequently engaged in demanding public controversies. In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, public sector employees are required to balance multiple and often contradictory objectives. These objectives can be viewed as paradoxes, where two opposites coexist.

Their research findings were recently published in the March 2020 issue of the Australian Journal of Public Administration.

IPAA members can access the entire back catalogue of the Australian Journal of Public Administration as part of their member benefits.

The paper referenced in this blog — Paradoxical leadership in public sector organisations: Its role in fostering employee resilience — can also be accessed free of charge by the wider public sector community until the 30 April 2020.

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WHAT IS PARADOXICAL LEADERSHIP?

‘Paradoxical Leadership’ is defined as the ability to balance competing structural and relational demands over time.

WHAT ARE THE FACETS OF PARADOXICAL LEADERSHIP?

Research suggests that paradoxical leadership behaviours have five facets.

• The first facet is uniformity and individualisation. Yan Zhang, David A. Waldman, Yu-lan Han and Xiao-Bei Li, who undertook the Chinese study of paradoxical leadership, described this facet as one of treating followers uniformly whilst also allowing individualisation concerns that enable individuals’ strengths to shine, and at the same time fostering a structure where team members can contribute confidently without being overly competitive or individualistic.
• The second facet is self- and other-centredness which is all about maintaining a strong sense of self, while also having and showing humility to others (described by David A. Waldman and David E. Bowen).
• The third facet is decision control/autonomy which relates to leaders controlling subordinate behaviour and decision making while giving employees discretion to act flexibly and autonomously (described by Yan Zhang and his colleagues).
• The fourth facet concerns striking a balance between distance and closeness. This paradox — between maintaining both status/role difference and interpersonal connections —is likely to help employees perceive their leaders as charismatic and authorised to make difficult decision (described by Boas Shamir).
• The fifth facet is work requirements and flexibility. It concerns enforcing work requirements yet also allowing flexibility. This sets norms and standards for bounded work environments, which would help ensure fairness and help define role clarity, an antecedent of positive job attitudes and behaviours (described by Jessica Lang, Jeffrey L. Thomas, Paul D Bliese and Amy Adler).

Continue reading this article in full on the IPAA National website

Public Administration Today (Today) was a quarterly publication for IPAA members, which served as a national communications medium for all IPAA members. It aimed to report IPAA activities, promote and celebrate achievements in Australian public sector management, disseminate information about major trends and developments, and facilitate discussion and debate.

The magazine was published by IPAA ACT on behalf of IPAA National, with a circulation of approximately 5,000 as at 2015.

In June 2015 it was determined that IPAA would cease the publication of Public Administration Today. As a result of falling circulation nationally and increasing costs, it was no longer a financially viable proposition. Edition 43 was the final, covering the period July to September 2015. IPAA ACT wishes to thank the many contributors to the magazine, with a special mention for Mr Ron Dent, the editor for the four final years of the publication.

The four most recent editions are accessible below, with previous editions available by contacting IPAA ACT on 02 6154 9800.

A Core People Practices and Supplier Expo that linked a panel of Group training Organisations  (GTOs) with agency representatives was held recently. The Expo, which supported the Skilling SA Public Sector Project was an initiative of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment and was assisted by IPAA SA. The expo linked SA Government Providers for Human Resources (HR) Systems and Group Training Organisations (GTO’s) with agency representatives to facilitate improved HR System capabilities and support the Public Sector Project.

Under the Skilling SA Public Sector Project, GTO’s are now available to assist State Government agencies in the recruitment of apprentices and trainees and partner with Agencies who will host trainees and apprentices.

To commence the day’s proceedings Jack Buckskin gave a moving ‘Welcome to Country’, with Commissioner Erma Ranieri, sharing her enthusiasm for this unique opportunity for collaboration and opening the expo to representatives and suppliers.

Shelley Willsmore, Chief Human Resource Officer at OCPSE also addressed the audience and  highlighted the importance of a shared vision for future recruitment and talent management for the public sector. As part of her speech Ms Willsmore explained the importance of planning to cater for the changing and evolving nature of the workforce.

As part of the Expo, representatives were engaged in two workshops gathering ideas and input  across agencies and additionally having the opportunity to engage with suppliers exhibiting on the day.

These workshops were facilitated by Public Sector Innovation Lab as part of addressing key issues identified through the ‘2018 I WORK FOR SA YOUR VOICE SURVEY’ and the resulting ‘South Australian Public Sector Action Plan 2019-20’.

The first workshop was led by Dan Butler from the Public Sector Innovation Lab, and here representatives explored how innovation and creativity can be applied to determine a best practice framework for recruitment at all levels across the sector. In this interactive workshop, each group was encouraged to put forward ideas and needs from their own agency and how to identify the barriers to achieving best practice.

The second workshop focused on leadership capability and talent management and was led by Jessica Lynch and Aaron Shepherd from OCPSE.  Here representatives examined current views on leadership development, and discussed the future of good talent management, identification and development for employees at all levels across the public sector.

In the coming weeks the outcomes and feedback will assist in furthering the South Australian Public Sector Action Plan.