Profession Public Servant Author:Ruth Hubbard Profession: Public Servant offers glimpses into the federal government s corridors of power during a decade of profound change and underscores the importance of learning for individuals, groups, and organizations in today s fast-paced world. It sets out a former deputy minister s take on the burden of office of the role and on the difficulties o... more »f staying out of one ditch excessive concern with safeguarding a few key principles without sliding into another being too anxious to please or too tempted to put personal interests first. The story emphasizes the constructive contribution of experience and imagination, especially when it is enriched by on-the-job reflection. Ideas in this book: To become a professional (contrasted with public service as a career or a job), one must uphold some key principles: safeguarding the fabric of society, speaking truth to power, loyalty to the public interest, and keeping the public trust on behalf of citizens. A constant challenging of assumptions, reframing problems, and testing of ideas is essential to work at the level of deputy minister (DM), those who manage a Canadian federal government department, directly under the political masters, the responsible Minister. A DM must pay attention to the four important dimensions of policy development: social acceptability, political do-ability (i.e. not too de-stabilizing), technically feasible, implementable (i.e. necessary players will likely be willing and able to play their parts) A DM must be able to deal effectively with Ministers and staffs: - Building trust with minister(s) and key political staff (e.g. always give best advice, no surprises, speak truth to power using as much imagination and creativity as you can while safeguarding fundamental principles); - Always being respectful and aim to achieve mutual respect (e.g. listen carefully and be as flexible and imaginative as possible without crossing the line, apologize for mistakes quickly and mean it, be prepared to draw a line in the sand but only if necessary and hope you never have to use it); - Always confronting lack of respect and civility by being clear about an unwillingness to tolerate it in any interaction.« less