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Don't do
anything - you might make a mistake
by Margot Cairnes
It is a truism in any Australian govern-ment bureaucracy
that it is better to do nothing than to take the risk of
action, since when you act you might make a mistake.
While ever you remain idle you can't possibly do
anything wrong, therefore you won't get a black mark
against your name. All this rests on the belief that
those who get ahead are not the most competent,
effective and best leaders but rather those with the
fewest black marks.
Now this line of reasoning has much to commend it.
Modern leadership theory expounds the value of honesty,
integrity and relationship. Leaders are encouraged to
listen, and to create safe environments in which issues
can be raised and openly discussed, problems solved, and
goals set and monitored. All this is premised on the
idea that organisations operate to create social or
economic wealth, to perform necessary functions and meet
socially and economically beneficial objectives.
It has been my experience over the years that all this
has very little to do with government bureaucracy, for
reasons that have practically nothing to do with
bureaucrats and everything to do with the dynamics of
the Australian political systems. Moreover, the
gatekeepers of ineffective government are those
watchdogs of public opinion, the media.
Let's have a look here at the way the system works.
Politicians, in order to maintain power, need to make
the decisions they believe to be important to ensure
reelection. They need the public to believe that they
are good, honest representatives who care about their
constituents and are competent to handle the issues of
government. To maintain their public standing the MPs
need to project a public relations image that is likely
to win and maintain voters' support.
The media's role in all this is that they can make or
break the public image of anyone in public office.
Moreover, as the media prefer to give coverage to
controversial issues they are constantly looking for
stories about failures, misjudgments and mistakes. The
opposition parties are only too keen to be obliging in
providing the media with any evidence they need of
political blundering on the part of any political rival.
This sets up a dynamic where politicians (and especially
those in power) do everything to not rock the boat, to
not make mistakes and to not be seen in anything but the
best public light.
As government ministers are in effect the key figures of
governance in the public sector they are the
transmitters of the strongest cultural messages. They,
through their actions and demeanor, set the social and
emotional atmosphere in the realms over which they rule.
The message they send loud and clear is: don't make any
embarrassing mistakes. Remember appearances are
everything.
The role of bureaucracy therefore - despite all the
propaganda, all the dedication of public servants and
all the hard work of lobby groups - is to save face for
the current set of government ministers.
I can't tell you how many department heads have told me
the anguish of not doing what made social and business
sense because what worked for the common good might
upset some key constituents of a powerful minister.
Working in the top reaches of government bureaucracy is
like working in a goldfish bowl. Everything you do is on
show, looking good matters more than getting on with
something of value.
This can only be highly demoralising, not to mention
horrifically wasteful of public monies, and hopelessly
ineffective for the social and economic good of the
nation. In such an environment the stereotype of the
faceless public servant makes incredibly good sense. He
is just following the minister's example and doing what
he is paid to do, working to preserve the minister's
public image.
Copyright
ã Margot
Cairnes
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