What all it means to be a #PublicServant?
Commemorating the Indian Civil Services Day 2022
"Public Servants are meant to be committed to the highest degrees of integrity. They need to be committed to delivering the best administration possible. They need to be committed to fair and transparent governance, delivering high-quality services, to stewardship of government funds that maximize cost-effectiveness and accountability. Public servants are meant to be committed to the improvement of the policy-making and service delivery abilities of the state.”
If as an Academic Institutional Head, you have come across a Public Servant exhibiting at an exemplary level one or more of the following Values, do recommend his/her name to governance@rethinkindia.in. S/he would be felicitated in the name of one of India’s foremost Public Servants T. N. Seshan on UN Public Service Day 2022, 23rd of June. You may ping Dr. Surbhi at 9910050597 for any query.
Public servants work in different jobs across different ministries.
But they all use the same values as the basis for their decisions, their actions, and how they measure results.
Public Service is all about Integrity
Integrity is at the heart of the corporate values of Public Service. It's vital to building trust. The public's trust in government is based on how they feel when they use government services, programs, or policies.
Integrity helps employees and leaders to trust each other in supporting a common goal. This means they're open, honest, and flexible. They take risks together and are willing to have constructive or challenging conversations.
Public Service is about Curiosity
If we need the courage to innovate, we also just as surely need the curiosity to find alternatives to the status quo.
Public Servants thereby need to approach their work with the curiosity to:
Seek better ways to achieve goals
Pursue opportunities to learn and develop
Welcome ideas from others
Be willing to learn from failure as well as success
Public Service is Just about the Attitude to Serve
Serving the needs, interests, and expectations of the people and their communities efficiently has to be the first priority of Public Servants.
That’s why those Public Servants are valued more who show a commitment to service in their work that includes:
Maintaining a clear focus on creating positive outcomes for citizens
Working collaboratively across government to enable success
Valuing different viewpoints
Placing organizational objectives ahead of personal goals
Public Servants are meant to be Passionate
People choose to become Public Servants and tackle the challenges of building a stronger, healthier, more prosperous State because they are passionate.
Being passionate does not mean you have to be an extrovert. It means you care enough about what you do that you are motivated to apply the best of yourself to achieve your goals.
That’s why the Public Service who approach their work with a passion for:
Taking pride in their work in service to the public
Seeing ideas and people succeed
Being a model of motivation and a positive influence on others
are valued immensely…
Public Service is about Team Work
The vast and complex range of responsibilities to be met by Public Servants always require a commitment to collaboration.
That’s why Public Servants are meant to understand that teamwork:
Builds trust by respecting the contributions of others
Encourages new ideas
Contributes to larger goals and positive engagement
Depends on supporting others and sharing information
Public Servants are meant to be Accountable
As Public Servants strive to be more Innovative and be more open to taking thoughtful risks, they must also maintain their responsibility to be accountable to the people they serve.
Accountability in the work of Public Servants is demonstrated through:
Setting clear goals and measuring success
Staying focused on the outcomes government is trying to achieve
Taking responsibility for decisions and completing tasks
Being consistently proactive in decisions
Showing the persistence and tenacity to overcome obstacles
Public Servants need to be Courageous
With the rising expectation and aspirations of the Public, Public Servants more than ever before, are faced with a host of challenges that demand the courage to adapt, change and innovate.
Being Courageous in Public Service essentially means to :
Take thoughtful risks in generating and implementing ideas
Be biased toward action
Apply imagination
Empower others to take initiative even in uncertain times
Look beyond the process to see the possible
Pursue a vision for the future