Iain Rennie spent 30 years in the New Zealand Public Service culminating in eight years in the top job – that of state services commissioner. In this episode, Iain tells podcast host Siobhan Benita about talent management reform, his realisations about leadership, his work as a consultant to governments around the world, and why public servants should be mindful of the increasingly diverse perspectives of citizens.   Realising that great leaders in the New Zealand Public Service often reached their potential “despite the system” rather than because of it, Iain’s focus in his latter years in the top job was on devising and implementing a more systematic way of identifying and nurturing talent and “empowering people with a sense of possibility”. He credits this and subsequent work with women now accounting for more than 50% of senior executive roles – but there is “unfinished business” he says, particularly around ethnic representation. Now working with civil and public services around the world to improve their effectiveness, he describes what looking at governments from the outside in, as well as the inside out, has meant for his perspectives. And he also looks back on the lessons from COVID – particularly that governments “failed pretty spectacularly” when it came to wellness – and his belief that the frames put around government response to major shocks are too narrow. Also sharing his thoughts on waning public trust and the rise of mis- and disinformation, and the promise of technology to change public services for good, this is an episode packed with the kind of wisdom that comes only through decades of hard work, experience and reflection. 

This special episode of Leading Questions shares the results from the 2023 Responsive Government Survey. Report author Richard Johnstone shares the headlines from the research, while contributors to the report - Grete Kvernland-Berg, the managing partner and country head for Norway at PA Consulting Group; Alexander Evans OBE, professor of practice in Public Policy at London School of Economics and former strategy director in the Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom; and Michael Wernick, the Jarislowsky chair of public sector management at the University of Ottawa, and former cabinet secretary in the Canadian government – share their thoughts on what success looks like for public services in the era of permacrisis.  

In the first of our Leading Questions podcasts to feature an American federal government leader, Noreen Hecmanczuk reflects on a long and diverse career which has seen her serve in the White House twice.   She took her first job in Washington D.C in the early 1990s – inspired by her WW2 veteran uncle – and hasn’t looked back.    The senior adviser on strategic engagements and communications to the US federal CIO, Noreen is right at the heart of government. But having worked at nine agencies and for six administrations – and in a range of roles from strategic communications to stakeholder engagement, HR to technology – she has a very well-rounded perspective on government operations.   From volunteering to take notes at meetings of foods standards executives in the midst of a deadly E coli outbreak to a particularly sobering moment whilst at the Department of Labor, Noreen has always shown a dedication to understanding her colleagues’ needs and how she might help meet them.   And she has kept two quotes front of mind: Teddy Roosevelt’s “Do what you can with what you have, where you are”, and her boss Clare Martorana’s motto that “people support what they helped create”.   Also covering improving citizens’ interactions with government through technology, why leaders shouldn’t confuse their role with that of a subject matter expert, the particulars of the American system and much more besides, this is an episode brimming with insight from a public servant whose work always comes back to one thing: resolutely serving the American people as best she can.  

Phindile Baleni was appointed secretary to South Africa’s cabinet and director general of the presidency – the first woman in the country’s history to hold these roles – amid the pandemic in April 2021. It’s a good thing she likes a challenge. With a background in maths and law, she joined the public service in 1994 just as South Africa was transitioning from the old apartheid regime to a new democratic order. Working in provincial government before moving to national, Phindile’s career has been akin to “navigating an obstacle course”, not least on account of her race and gender. From a magistrate describing her as a “little girl” and refusing to address her in the courtroom to coming up against lawyers in the public service who excluded her by speaking Afrikaans, Phindile has faced discrimination with strength and grace – sometimes working to educate bigots and when necessary “fighting fire with fire”. She says she has always had people “who have known what I’m capable of who troubleshooted on my behalf” but it is principally her self-confidence – built by her parents from a young age – that has helped to pull her through. She is, she says, “motivated by struggle”. Using her experiences and leadership prowess to support others – Phindile subscribes to the idea popular in Africa that “a star shines because the other star gives you the light for you to shine” – she has worked to help talented colleagues get over crises of confidence, pushing them out of their comfort zones so that they can achieve their best.  In this first episode of the new series of Leading Questions, Phindile also describes the “harrowing” experience of transforming a public service built on apartheid – to serve four million of a population of 54 million – into a democratic system capable of serving all South Africans. From an “eclectic” leader who comes across as humble and unassuming, this is a lesson in quiet unshakable strength, resilience and never giving up. 

To mark International Women’s Day, we bring you a special edition podcast in which two top civil servants discuss their experiences as women in government, their public service’s journey towards gender parity in the highest ranks, and what more needs to be done to break down the barriers women face on their way to the top. Sarah Paquet, director and chief executive of FINTRAC Canada, has won awards in recognition of her commitment to advancing gender diversity and inclusion, while Zukiswa Mqolomba, deputy chairperson of South Africa’s Public Service Commission, wasted no time challenging the country’s patriarchal society upon being appointed to her latest role last year. Both vocal advocates for women leaders and their contribution towards creating fairer societies, in this podcast – which pulls together the best bits from our recent women leaders webinar – Zukiswa and Sarah discuss everything from imposter syndrome and confronting microaggressions in the workplace, to parental leave policies and whether hybrid working helps or hinders women professionally, and much more besides.