evisiting Core Competencies and Professionalism in the Public Sector

Each year, since the implementation of the New Remuneration Scheme, public sector managers are asked to identify five of their major responsibilities as part and parcel of target-setting. Some officers may find this requirement easy while others may find it difficult. Why is this so? Simply stated, writing down one’s roles on paper demands some thinking, let alone translating these roles into purposive action.

What are the main roles of public sector managers? Are we constantly changing our roles in tandem with new job demands? What are the current performance standards like? Is there a rising expectation from clients? Can managers deliver the goods and services in a professional way? What about the need to upgrade the capacity of managers and their core competencies needed to deal with myriads of situations?

According to Mintzberg, a manager essentially displays 10 roles - as a figurehead, leader, liaison, monitor, disseminator, spokesperson, entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and last but not least negotiator. In short, a 21st century manager is becoming more of a multi-skilled person rather than doing only a specialist job. Indeed, the complexities surrounding work itself makes the manager’s roles becoming more complicated. In a general sense, public sector managers tackle ‘front-line’ responsibilities, undertake strategic decisions and allocate resources to achieve certain goals. They also ensure that alignment and synergy are kept alive in the departments and agencies. They are expected to integrate activities and create a supportive working environment. A deep understanding of how individuals and teams perform is another added advantage. In some instances, their ability to energize and revitalize poor-performing organisation is crucial in ensuring successful turnarounds. Such balance of skills displayed is generally referred to as “core competencies.”

Core competencies can be categorically classified as “hard” and “soft” skills. Hard skills encompass aspects like planning, scheduling and controlling. Soft skills involve behaviour, attitude and communication style. Hard skills determine the goals and processes while soft skills ensure that people can meet those objectives.

Where soft skills are concerned, professionals connect rather than direct. It goes without saying that departments and agencies are arenas of human interaction. This is where public managers have to blend their IQ and EQ (Emotional Intelligence). On one hand, the competency to demonstrate intellectual rigour depends on the manager’s maturity, orientations and training. On the other hand, the importance of relationship-building emphasizes the value of collaboration internally across departments, districts and divisions and externally with strategic partners and alliances . You need to know all the players in your departments and agencies as much as knowing your own turf and technical knowledge. This is where communications competency can assist them to formulate a policy that is able to reflect and disseminate shared vision, mission and values. Only when managers can excel in all these core competencies can they be described as professionals.

Professionalism is sometimes construed as the pursuit of excellence (not just competence) and strict adherence to the highest values. Professionals believe passionately in what they do and never compromise their standards and values. We often wonder how colonial bureaucrats of yesteryears were able to write passionately on subjects they loved. Today, it is getting very rare to receive in-depth reports and writings from amongst our very own officers. What is happening and where have things gone wrong? With a new era, it is now timely to play our proper role in writing and putting down our idea like those folks of yesteryears.

In the modern context, professionalism evokes doing work with pride, delivering quality goods and services with a sincere desire and commitment to help people. In this respect, it is heartening to note that more and more agencies have obtained their MS ISO 9000 certification and a host of other agencies queuing to jump aboard the quality bandwagon. And yet one must be reminded that the task does not stop after receiving certification. In fact, it is only the beginning of a long professional journey.

Besides the commitment to excellence, professionals are almost always characterized by high performance standards, mastery of procedures that meet those standards, principle-centred (as opposed to money-centred), exemplary, role-models plus the constant determination for self-improvement. Professionalism entails strict behavioral standards like respect for bosses, peers and underlings. Professional managers often exude an aura of dignity, invincibility and the ability to rise to the occasion. They are not automatons, sycophants and flatterers performing mindless rituals, routines and regulations set by their bosses. They understand what they are doing and the reasons behind their actions. As a unique trait, professionalism is a dynamic capability that produces its own demands. Above all, professional success requires more than talent. It requires drive, initiative, commitment, involvement and a fiery enthusiasm to constantly deliver the best.

The bottom-line is that the Sarawak Civil Service has little room for incompetencies and slipshod delivery of the public goods and services. Tolerating these demons can taint the image of the Civil Service and the whole institution may crumble because of sheer disregard for noble values, particularly professionalism. Incompetencies like poor surroundings maintenance, disjointed handing-over process and laidback culture such as slumbering in comfort zone must be treated as things of the past. What it takes to be world-class managers is a bone of contention. There are in fact many ways to become world class. Perhaps we can start by pondering on the following maxims, “Never mind the rmyth, feel the reality.” “Never mind the pain, feel the gain.” For District Officers in the State, what about the slogan “Do not let Julau change you, You change Julau!” These mantras should reverberate within us. The genesis of a world-class public sector is a tall order. Small actions can lead to big changes in the public sector. Always remember that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.