Canadian Govt Leadership Competency Profiles: HR Needs & Prof'l Standards - Essay Sample

Introduction

Over the past few years, the Canadian government has managed to employ various leadership competency profiles. The development and modification of these profiles within the Public Service of Canada are motivated by the needs of the Human Resource, as well as the individual initiatives and strategies being employed by the government. These profiles reflect various standards, such as the values and ethics, as well as professionalism that is expected of the employees in the service (Brill and Karlin 79). Considering this relationship between the leader and employees, this paper supports the view that a focus on values and ethics, engagement, and strategic thinking can be reconciled with a broader behavioral-based leadership approach in the current context of the public service in Canada.

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The Key Leadership Competencies (KLC) profile is based on the Public Service Values and Ethics. It features four types of competencies, where two have sub-competencies. These are Values and Ethics, Strategic Thinking (with Analysis and Ideas), Engagement and Management Excellence (with Action Management, People Management, and Financial Management).

A behavioral leadership approach is one that focuses on the particular behavior showcased by the leader. This approach has the purpose of determining how specific sets of behavior impact the performance and satisfaction of those working within the leader's team (Roy 544). Hence, the actions of a leader are related to specific outcomes, which can either be good or bad.

Considering these two factors described above, the interrelationship between them becomes apparent. The behavioral leadership approach works by defining the kind of behavior which a leader is expected to have in a company. Therefore, these suggestions can be based on values and ethics, engagement, and strategic thinking, as indicated in the Key Leadership Competencies (KLC) of the Canadian public service.

Public servants have a role to play, which is based on a deal with the government. They offer their professionalism, discretion, and non-partisan loyalty so that they can get anonymity and security of tenure. Anonymity describes how the public servants cannot be held publicly accountable, while the latter factor refers to lifetime employment that is guaranteed to them.

However, this deal has been broken since there is confusion on what measures to take and how to make them. Some public servants have been expected to show before parliamentary committees. The ministers argue that they should not have to suffer for mistakes that they had nothing to do with in the first place.

It is essential to have leaders whose behaviors are in line with the values and ethics of the public service. That means that they should not misuse the benefits offered to them. That is why officials can and will be expected to appear before a parliamentary committee to provide specific information needed, or even explain their actions.

That will ensure that the responsible government is not affected (Siegel 142). The only limit, in this case, is that the parliamentary bodies will not have a right to instruct the public service officials since it is the role of ministers. The purpose of anonymity is to protect the authority of ministers, thereby promoting the democratic principle, which implies that the government should be handled by the elected representatives only.

It serves the purpose of preserving the public service neutrality so that candid advice can be offered to the ministers. Therefore, by considering these purposes, the value of the civil service can be reconciled with the behavioral leadership approach, which focuses on the actions of a leader, rather than their traits. The officials will be able to follow the acceptable guidelines when conducting their roles within the public service.

The public service lacks adequate ethical and accountability frameworks. Therefore, the gap between behavior that is forbidden and that which is honest and ethical requires ethical rules and codes of conduct that will not only reassure the public but protect the officials as well. Since the new public service environment is complex and challenges by factors such as shifts in the balance between values and regulations, it becomes difficult to make ethical decisions (Waterfield 207).

To get the right balance, rules need to be written to ensure that they focus on their intended purpose and that they are not overly bureaucratic. Public servants need to have means through which they can express concerns about the actions that they perceive to be illegal, unethical, or inconsistent with their values. They also need to have means through which these concerns can be considered, albeit in a fair manner.

The leader plays a major role in ensuring that the values and ethics of the public service are in line with the rules and their purpose. Therefore, the leader should set an example by behaving and promoting behavior that will ensure the public service acts in the required manner. The values and ethics must also be reflected in how the public service deals with the population, how they offer advice to ministers, and whether or not they are misusing their benefits.

That shows that the two factors can be reconciled by ensuring that the leader promotes values and ethics, which are in line with what is expected from the public service. The right course of action will be promoted to gain an effective outcome. The officials will be able to see how certain actions impact values and ethics of the public service.

Engagement is an essential issue that relates to and affects public service. It is argued that highly motivated individuals will also perform better than those who have lower levels of motivation. That is why those from the former group are considered the best candidates for employment in the public service.

Engagement refers to the extent to which the public service official will feel passionate about the job, is committed to the government, and puts discretionary efforts in their roles. Therefore, in the public service, motivation is affected by the willingness of the official to do good for others and society as a whole. Therefore, for one to become engaged in the public service sector, he or she must have motivation.

The motivation is affected by being committed to the interests of the public, compassion, self-sacrifice, and even a personal attraction to policymaking (Kernaghan 9). This concept is related to the behavioral-based leadership approach since the leader can influence the officials to choose particular sets of behaviors that will promote their motivation. When the public service officials are encouraged to showcase commitment in the public interest, they adopt the culture and focus on that purpose.

However, if the leader behaves in selfish ways and focuses more on personal interests, the officials will also follow a similar approach. That is the reason why it is imperative to promote the outcomes by employing effective behavioral-based leadership approaches. The leader has to act by setting an example to the rest of the group, and by creating relevant rules and regulations to guide behaviour.

Just as is the case with public service motivation, employee engagement also arises from several interrelated concepts, such as pride, job satisfaction, and commitment to the organization. Where the employees showcase increased pride in the public service, the outcome would be a better performance by the official. With the better performance comes, the greater public approval of the public servants.

That means that the members of the public will increasingly become satisfied with the kind of public service offered to them by these officials. When the leader fosters meaning in working in the public service, the officials understand their importance and the opportunity they have to change the society through their positions. That is why they become proud of being part of the team that offers public service, and they will also have no problem referring friends to also apply and work in the same setting.

Therefore, there is a relationship between the employer's behavior and that showcased by the employees. It shows that the two factors can be reconciled to improve the kind of service offered by the public service of Canada. That is because the leader has the ability to influence employee engagement, thereby improving their performance.

Strategic thinking refers to a rational thought process that features critical factor analysis and consideration of variables that have a great influence on the long-term success of an organization. The absence of strategic thinking in top leaders has been identified as a major factor that negatively impacts the performance of an organization. It is a critical aspect that every leader must have because, without it, the business will not even have a culture that drives success (Goldman and Andrea 124).

The leader needs to set an example of strategic thinking so that the employees working under him can also emulate the same. All members of the public service team need to be able to interpret complex pieces of information and create their realities that will push them towards better performance. In the public service environment, officials tend to work closely with the needs of the public.

Therefore, strategic thinking is much needed, and it can be established through a culture that will promote the same. This aspect related to behavioral leadership approaches in the sense that the leader has the capability of behaving in ways that will help the employees to understand their habits and practices, thereby promoting their strategic thinking ability (Rose and David 457). The leader can also use work experiences shown to promote the strategic thinking outcome.

The strategic planning processes can incorporate certain characteristics that will enhance how these contribute to strategic thinking. Therefore, it all relates to the behavior of the leader. The leader needs to consider a specific set of behavior that will lead to particular sets of outcomes.

Considering an analysis of each of the factors described above, it is evident that they all relate to behavioral-based leadership approaches in unique ways. So far, progress has already been made within the public service sector of Canada. However, these factors can be reconciled by considering improvement measures which will also impact the performance of the public service servants, though their leader. The employees simply need to be guided in the right direction. Also, those with the right attitude need to be considered for employment so that employee engagement can be promoted.

Works Cited

Brill, Pamela, and Karlin Sloan. "Peak Performance For The Political Leader." Journal Of Leadership Studies, vol 5, no. 1, 2011, pp. 76-83. Wiley, doi:10.1002/jls.20207.

Goldman, Ellen F., and Andrea Casey. "Building A Culture That Encourages Strategic Thinking." Journal Of Leadership & Organizational Studies, vol 17, no. 2, 2010, pp. 119-128. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/1548051810369677.

Kernaghan, Kenneth. "Getting Engaged: Public-Service Merit And Motivation Revisited." Canadian Public Administration, vol 54, no. 1, 2011, pp. 1-21. Wiley, doi:10.1111/j.1754-7121.2011.00158.x.

Rose, Wade R., and David Cray. "Public-Sector Strategy Formulation." Canadian Public Administration, vol 53, no. 4, 2010, pp. 453-466. Wiley, doi:10.1111/j.1754-7121.2010.00145.x.

Roy, Jeffrey. "Beyond Westminster Governance: Bringing Politics And Public Service Into The Networked Era." Canadian Public Administration, vol 51, no. 4, 2008, pp. 541-568. Wiley, doi:10.1111/j.1754-7121.2008.00041.x.

Siegel, David. "The Leadership Role Of The Municipal Chief Administrative Officer." Canadian Public Administratio...