Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

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In their recent 12-month stocktake of the department’s progress since the originalreport, the review team commented that “there had been a significant and positivetransformation at director level. Below that level, an increasingly strengthenedleadership community was being created, with each SCS member accepting atleast one corporate responsibility which went beyond their day-to-dayresponsibilities.” They highlighted, by way of example, “the improvements that hadbeen made in delivering strong board cohesion and effective leadership for whichthe executive team could take particular credit”.’Where departments are making less progress, we are seeing:• slower progress in making appointments to key leadership roles, including roleswith oversight and leadership of change;• little impact by non-executive directors;• a lack of clarity on individual roles on boards and on the board’s collectiveresponsibilities; and• a lack of real engagement in leadership in the department beyond board leveland their immediate reports.What is most difficult for departments in improving leadership?The biggest challenges are:• Leading change. Change leadership is difficult for departments. Expertise inchange is not recognised as a profession or specific skill within government, andconsequently some boards have found it difficult to understand how to lead andresource the complex change programmes emerging from the Capability Reviewsand other drivers. Whilst there has been progress in this area, this is by no meansuniversal. Increasingly, departments are appointing experienced specialists, withpositive results; but in some departments managing a change programme is notyet seen as a role requiring particular skills. Departments need to develop theirown capability and skills in this area and not rely on external appointment.Currently skills in leading change are not widespread in departments, and thosewith such skills are not always effectively deployed.• Getting the most out of non-executive directors (NEDs). Many departmentshave appointed new NEDs and there is now a strong cadre of external expertscommitted to improving their departments and the Civil Service as a whole. It isstill, however, early days, and we do not yet see NEDs consistently playing astrong challenge and support role for boards. The potential of this group is yetto be fully realised.• Clarity about the role of boards. The concept of Civil Service boards acting asmore than a representative forum, with the key relationships being vertical, is stillrelatively new. Many boards have slimmed down and become significantly morestrategic. But we are still seeing some departments struggling to articulate andenact a distinctive and value-adding role for the board, particularly aroundeffective leadership and decision making.30COMMON CAPABILITY GAPS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS
• Engaging the wider SCS. This is a difficult challenge for even those departmentsthat are performing best in leadership. We have seen encouraging signs from theOLR research we commissioned recently, which shows a clear majority of PayBands 1 and 2 feeling positive and committed to change and Civil Service reform.For example:– 83 per cent felt achieving Civil Service reform was extremely or very importantfor the future delivery of public services;– 88 per cent were extremely or very committed to the reform agenda andmaking change happen in their departments; and– 87 per cent strongly agreed that it was their responsibility to play their part indriving change forward in their department.This is yet, however, to develop into strongly positive commitment and action, andthe ability to make change stick is still viewed with scepticism by some.‘[To make change happen, we need] stronger, united leadership from the top ofthe department with the courage to face different issues and make a decisionon them.’Research with Senior Civil Servants by Opinion Leader Research (OLR)This level of commitment provides, however, a good base for departments to buildon as they move into the next phase. It is particularly encouraging that leaders in thewider SCS see it as their responsibility to drive change forward, rather than leavingit to their boards.What is the centre doing to build capability in leadership?Leadership is the area where there is most activity from the centre, led by the CivilService Capability Group (CSCG, formerly the Corporate Development Group) in theCabinet Office. The Capability Review of the Cabinet Office said:‘The current Cabinet Office Corporate Development Group, which is chargedwith Civil Service reform from the centre, does not at present command theauthority with departments needed to lead this work. It needs to strengthen itsskills and re-launch itself if it is to succeed in doing so.’Capability Review of the Cabinet Office (2006)CSCG has undergone a wide-ranging and challenging transition throughout thelifespan of Capability Reviews. This has included external recruitment in specialistareas, including change management and leadership, and the incorporation of theCapability Reviews Team into the group. Restructuring the group will provide a muchstronger focus on developing capability in leadership and change management, andshould increase CSCG’s ability to respond to capability gaps identified through thereview and assurance programme. However, there is still some way to go before thisbecomes routine. More about the role of CSCG in the future is set out in Chapter 3.CAPABILITY REVIEWS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS31
Page 1 and 2: Capability Reviews:Progress and Nex
Page 3 and 4: This has been an excellent example
Page 5 and 6: 1. Tranche 1 departments: a year on
Page 7 and 8: Department for Children, Schools an
Page 9 and 10: This will act as an innovative and
Page 11 and 12: • ‘Managing for improvement’:
Page 13 and 14: Home OfficeStarting from a low base
Page 15 and 16: Department’s wider agenda. Develo
Page 17 and 18: Ministry of JusticeThe MoJ was crea
Page 19 and 20: A number of significant programmes
Page 21 and 22: 2. Common capability gaps: progress
Page 23 and 24: later tranches have not been able t
Page 25 and 26: or hinder it:‘lack of leadership
Page 27 and 28: All of these aspects came together
Page 29: Case study: Collective leadership i
Page 33 and 34: Participants’ comments included:
Page 35 and 36: Consequently, the areas of focus su
Page 37 and 38: Building up the supply and demand s
Page 39 and 40: Case study: Development work with d
Page 41 and 42: Case study: A skills strategy for g
Page 43 and 44: The recent CSR has emphasised the i
Page 45 and 46: At six months after the review:•
Page 47 and 48: Our challenge now is to ensure that
Page 49 and 50: • a more comprehensive approach t
Page 51 and 52: The Tranche 3 report identified the
Page 53 and 54: Case study: The Home Office Strateg
Page 55 and 56: The group is expanding to include l
Page 57 and 58: • The Sunningdale Institute facil
Page 59 and 60: Exhibit 3: Change trajectoriesCapab
Page 61 and 62: original reviews. The re-review wil
Page 63 and 64: Departments increasingly have to wo
Page 65 and 66: LeadershipKey questions that test c
Page 67 and 68: DeliveryKey questions that test cur
Page 69: Capability Reviews TeamCabinet Offi

Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

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