Week 10: 7-11 November

On Thursday and Friday I went to Yorkshire for a cross-civil service induction for Deputy Directors. The event combined inspiring speakers, an introduction to some of the tools of systems thinking and time for reflection and planning. There was a reasonable level of diversity in the group, although it felt like I was one of the newest civil servants. The Deputy Director role is challenging because it’s just operational enough to offer plenty of opportunities to get stuck in the day-to-day (plenty of opportunity for plans to be derailed by requests for ‘things’ by a particular deadline) but is also expected to be strategic and cross-organisational.  

I left, buzzing with all the things I want to achieve. And the event also reminded me what a privilege the job is, and of the determination to deliver great public services that unites so many of my colleagues.

Tuesday feels like a particularly long time ago but it was one of the more interesting . I met Mark to discuss my objectives for the remainder of the financial year and had a wide-ranging discussion with a strategic partner to explore opportunities to modernise how we approach technical development (clue: it’s largely about how people work, rather than the tech we use).

The two things feature so strongly in my week because they came together nicely into my emerging mission. It maybe that these change shape a bit, but the last fortnight suggests that this will be the majority of my focus for the next six months or so.

An overview of my draft objectives and key programmes of work

But I’ve also spent a couple of weeks grappling with how to develop a guiding principle for our technology roadmap. And then, at some point on Thursday evening after drawing a 2×2 grid for what felt like the 78th time, I finally got it. Or think I have. I’m looking forward to exploring it more with colleagues over the next fortnight.  

I haven’t had a day like Wednesday in a little while: 10 meetings about 12 different topics, packed into seven hours with a 30 minute break. I was beginning to feel like I was too old for this, come the end of the day. And then had to carry-off my impersonation as a rugby coach for my son’s team in the evening.

I’d like to remember what the rest of the week entailed, but as the packed train hurtles back to Kings Cross it feels like a very long time ago.

Next week involves 7 meetings which are all opportunities to move forward my objectives. That feels like a real luxury. It also means I need to prepare really well. I’ve learnt that the event itself doesn’t just need to be successful but my capacity to follow-on from it needs to ensure it doesn’t have a rapid half-life.