Building the Indispensable Partnership Between Political Leaders and Public Servants 

One of Prime Minister Carney’s priorities is to reenergize and reinvigorate the public service, so as to successfully facilitate his ambitious agenda. Towards this end, he has hired Michael Sabia as the new Clerk of the Privy Council. Michael has led a distinguished career in both the private and public sectors, and is well known for his hard-driving, risk-taking ways. I think the two are a perfect fit – they are highly intelligent and neither suffers fools easily.

Indeed, the relationship between political leaders and public servants is central to providing good government. If this relationship is dysfunctional, it will undermine policymaking and governance and erode public confidence.

I learned this well during my years in cabinet. In fact, at our very first Cabinet meeting, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien directed us to closely collaborate with our officials. He wanted ministers to develop a meaningful partnership and take full advantage of their expertise. It proved to be extremely valuable advice.

I drew a number of critical lessons from my years working with public servants that are still relevant today.

First, it is becoming more common for newcomers to assume cabinet posts.

Years ago, ministers were older, entering Cabinet after they’d gained broad parliamentary experience. That tradition has now been altered in favour of younger, first-time candidates. In Carney’s 38-member cabinet, for example, 24 are new faces. I believe this trend will continue. Ministers will therefore be learning the political ropes of being MPs and members of Cabinet at the same time. Accordingly, the new ministers will require even more wise counsel.

Indeed, public officials need to sort out the different roles. The minister isn’t there to manage the department. That’s the deputy’s job. Conversely, the deputy doesn’t run the political agenda. That’s the responsibility of ministers and their staff. The department functions best when each tends to their own responsibilities, while respecting and supporting each other.

These mutually reinforcing roles demand trust, which is indispensable to a successful relationship. Without it, the challenges ahead will only become more difficult. Problem-solving requires that each party have faith in the other. If either is looking over their shoulder, or doubting the other, mistakes are bound to occur.

Ministers must also outline their goals early and lead the department with a focused and strategic agenda. The key word is “focused”. Officials with inexperienced ministers need to ensure they stick to a tight agenda. I found that every Cabinet initiative was a heavy political lift, requiring considerable time and effort. It’s therefore advisable for Ministers to tackle only a select number of objectives.

In terms of meetings with officials, I met with my Deputy Minister (DM) every Monday. I also spoke to him two to four times during the week, and if an urgent matter arose, additional meetings were arranged. This is why the rapport between a minister and a deputy must be an open and accessible one.

Beyond talking to the DM, I also attended policy briefings with officials and staff. We called them P&P – policy and planning sessions. Whenever I considered pursuing a new initiative or investigating an issue, a P&P session was scheduled to review the file, develop options, and execute a plan of action. I could not have imagined taking a leap of faith in a new policy domain without them.

Second, relationships between Ministers and their officials must be frank.

Good policymaking starts with honesty, and I always insisted that my civil servants be candid with me. No sugar-coating. If they weren’t straight, regardless of how painful their input, then my final judgment risked being off the mark, and that could have dire consequences.

Ministers must be strong enough to accept the straight goods, and not blame the messenger. And public servants should not hold things back. Find the best way to situate the issue but never hide the reality.

Trust builds loyalty, which is a must between ministers and their officials. As much as officials need to support their political bosses, the minister must also have the officials’ backs. Politics is a team sport and owing to deep public cynicism with both politicians and public servants, neither group can lay claim to an elaborate “fan” base. So, if the two don’t support each other, who will?

In our system, the minister is publicly accountable. They must take full ownership of any mishaps, and refrain from playing the blame game. Taking responsibility is the first step towards resolving the issue.

Some new governments have assumed office with a deep suspicion of bureaucrats. This was the case under both Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper. While Mulroney eventually changed his views, I never got the impression that Harper overcame his suspicion of public servants. That’s unfortunate, because having served in three different portfolios, I found officials helpful in carrying out my agenda.

Third, it is critical for officials to provide their Ministers with a broad set of policy options.

Bureaucrats should always think creatively and showcase all the realistic alternatives when providing policy advice to ministers. Likewise, ministers should welcome a variety of recommendations. I believe that restricting options is the enemy of effective policymaking. At times, it might be tempting for officials to ingratiate themselves by leading exclusively with what they think their ministers want. But this approach should be avoided at all costs. It’s short-sighted and undercuts the minister’s latitude. Instead, ministers must be exposed to all the possibilities so that they can choose the most appropriate course. As well, ministers should never limit their officials when seeking advice. They should trust their officials and be open to their viewpoints. After all, ministers always have the last say.

When proposing solutions, officials should also strive to provide balanced counsel, avoiding extreme positions. The latter will often prove divisive – the majority of voters aren’t found on the fringes of the political spectrum. Most are moderate and seek the same from their governments.

In briefing ministers, officials should surround them with the brightest experts. It is not necessary for the minister to be the smartest person in the room. It’s more crucial that they have solid judgments. Therefore, don’t hold back on procuring the best experts – remember, the better the input, the better the outcome.

When arriving at a decision, the minister and the deputy should be freely delegating. There’s no need to micromanage every detail. Instead, provide officials and staff with the leeway to complete the mission at hand. This will usually incentivize them to work even harder.

Prime Minister Chrétien was a master delegator. Allowing others the authority to make decisions clarified what his own priorities were, and it freed up more time to address them. So, don’t get tied up in knots. Provide people with the space they require.

Fourth, public servants need to appreciate their boss’s heavy workload.

Ministers have an enormous number of draws on their time. The prime minister and the PMO staff, their party colleagues, opposition members, the media, and their constituents, all need to be attended to. This takes time that’s already constrained by Cabinet, caucus, and committee meetings; Question Period; and weekly house duty. Party affairs, conferences, and speaking engagements also eat into a minister’s schedule, to say nothing of national or international travel and making time for their family and themselves.

Officials must be conscious of this when contemplating a request of their minister, including being sensitive to the length of their briefing notes. They must contain all the salient facts, but the presentation should be tight. There’s a reason they’re called briefs. If memos run on and on, they might discourage ministers from reading them, and that will leave them frazzled and anxious. Not exactly the right frame of mind for making sound decisions.

Fifth, bureaucratic support is critical to a minister’s success.

Regardless of how capable individual ministers might be, their success often rests with the support of public servants. To move a policy through its paces, ministers need their public servants to be “ambassadors,” reaching out to central agencies and other departments, to promote and defend the merits of their policy proposals.

They also serve as “intelligence” officers, learning who supports or opposes any given measure. And when it’s the latter, they must specifically determine why, so they can develop potential solutions. Recognizing and responding to bureaucratic risks is a central part of a minister’s work.

In closing, the collective actions and calibre of our public service directly helps shape the wellbeing of Canada and the quality-of-life Canadians have come to expect. A well-functioning, independent and professional cadre of civil servants serves the national interest. Carney and Sabia understand this, so it is incumbent on them to ensure that cabinet ministers think seriously about how they can best work with, and motivate, their public servants.

It would be well worth the effort.

It would also help ensure that everyone is laser focused on the major priorities of the government.