Lead through Innovation and Creativity!

Alberta's public sector is again being challenged to tighten its collective belt for fiscal year 2013/14 - and into the foreseeable future.  Funding increases for some departments are being reduced from former commitments while others are experiencing outright funding reductions.  Salary negotiations in the public sector are taking the expected turn as well - wage freezes and tough negotiations.

I'm leaving aside any comment or perspective on whether Alberta has an expenditure problem or a revenue problem.  Regardless of where I weigh in on that debate it won't have any bearing on the situation facing Alberta's public sector.  The reality is that there will be funding challenges to deal with while at the same time achieving what's expected given a continuous boisterous economy and population growth.  And growing expectations of performance!  Some of the responses that have been considered under similar circumstances in the past have included service reductions, program elimination, fee increases (e.g., tuition fees, parking rates) and other generalized cost-cutting measures (e.g., eliminate or reduce travel and professional development).  These same approaches will likely surface this time around too. 

There is more debate this time around about core directions for some institutions - What type of programs really should be offered on a go-forward basis?  Are all programs offered really part of our core direction/purpose?  Do we need a new facility in this location?  Will this facility serve another few years longer versus being replaced?  Can we fulfill our mandate without a particular program or a particular facility? We are even seeing discussions within the education sector that would be akin to merger/acquisition talks within the private sector.  The promise of the latter approach is to reduce duplication of services and associated expenses.  We definitely need to have these discussions and make our system reflect what service requirements are today and into the future.  We should also be prepared to evaluate whether some of our service delivery options are meeting pure health and education requirements or might be too focused on other economic and political goals.

What I haven't heard much about yet is whether truly innovative and creative solutions are being looked at to meet this funding/service challenge into the future.  It's not like we haven't seen this movie before.  And I can't see pure cost-cutting as a sustainable long-term strategy.  So how do we make our services more sustainable - and better! - into the future?  What can we learn - and adapt - from other businesses to promote innovation in service delivery and creativity in meeting the challenge?  How can we lead and succeed with innovation and creativity?

Fundamentally, I believe we need a change in our public sector culture.  And by this I do not mean that we must demand more from our public sector employees in terms of hours worked or benefits foregone.  We have to overcome the myth of public sector employees as unmotivated and entitled individuals who could not cut it in the "real world".  That approach will not get the commitment we need to make necessary changes to service provision.  More likely, that approach will get us more of the continuing conflict and dysfunction we already observe in our labour negotiations.  As challenging as it will be, we will have to do more work on developing true respectful partnerships within our public sector.

Success will also mean doing a 180 degree turn on some of our traditional leadership and management practices.  I'm sure most of us have heard from public sector staff and managers the frustration of having to jump through innumerable hoops and navigate countless barriers to fulfill duties of their jobs - much less have time or energy left over to be innovative.  As pressure to manage budgets and perform to expectations has increased over time, the reaction of "the system" has been to put more and more processes in place to somehow enforce performance and manage risk.  This emphasis on process is further compounded by some who confuse micromanagement with accountability and responsibility - and leadership.  Neither additional process or oversight will allow our public sector to implement required changes in a timely and effective fashion.  Instead what is required is more inspiring leadership, leadership vision that is focused more on "what" then "how", and a system that starts to re-establish trust in the ability of its people to perform.

To foster the innovation and creativity we require, there is the need to provide the space and time to be innovative and creative.  Staff and managers have been running full out - responding to the latest directives, the need for more reports, the need to justify positions and expenditures, the need to respond to a host of expectations and so on.  There are not enough hours in the day and they generally feel that success is surviving the shift, the day, or the week.  Their collective heads are down, nose to the grindstone, trying to meet expectations.  Do they feel they have made progress?  Do they feel they have made a difference?  Do they feel fulfilled?  The answers are generally no.  Simply telling people to "work smarter" without actually giving them permission to disengage from their regular tasks, duties and expectations merely generates more frustration.  It may seem counter intuitive given the pressures the public sector is under right now, but there is a necessity to create some real breathing space to fully engage our skilled and dedicated professionals in meeting long-standing challenges.  As Einstein said (and I may paraphrase) - "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

A challenge to leadership in the current circumstances is continuing to be courageous enough to take on the status quo.  This relates to previous points on developing a compelling vision for the future, focusing on outcomes (the "what"), empowering people to achieve (the "how"), and just as importantly - especially in this time frame - sacrifice more than a few sacred cows.  There is a need more than ever to reframe our conversations and redefine how our work is getting done (and even what our work should be!).  There is no doubt that powerful forces within our institutions or amongst various stakeholders will resist such change - after all, they have done well under the current setup.  There has to be more courage and willingness on the part of all leaders at all levels of our organizations to truly commit to an inspiring vision and stay the course. 

Leaders will also have to foster and support change agents throughout our public sector.  They will have to ask themselves, "Who really is equipped and ready to lead the change we need to make to be successful in achieving our vision?"  They will not only have to take steps to identify those current and future leaders, but they will also have to make very real efforts to ensure these change agents are not just the first over the hill to get the spear.  There are those prepared to step up at all levels of the organizations to make real change but they face many up-hill battles right now.  Leaders must display the courage to really support a strong vision for the future and support their change agents to overcome inertia and the forces supporting the status quo. 

Finally, there must be the patience to develop a culture of creativity and innovation - and trust.  Culture doesn't change or evolve overnight.  People won't simply become creative or innovative or calculated risk takers overnight.  Too many of these potential change agents have been burned before when they have stepped out into the spotlight.  Developing creative and innovative solutions - and a culture that supports culture and innovation - takes concerted effort and many small steps.  If there is belief that real change is necessary all organizational efforts and systems must be aligned to creating a belief and a culture that will support and sustain that change.  The "Big Bang Theory" of change that we have seen play out too often may seem appealing and demonstrative of a commitment to action but it has limited and questionable affect in my opinion.


Let's fuel passion.  Let's celebrate (not punish) new ideas.  Let's foster autonomy.  Let's be courageous.  Let's experiment.  Let's take (many) small steps. 

Let's lead with creativity and innovation!

______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.